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39 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM FHFA SEEKS INPUT TO HELP LIMITED ENGLISH- SPEAKING BORROWERS e Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Request for Input (RFI) in May regarding problems that qualified Limited English Proficiency (LEP) borrowers face during the mortgage life cycle process. Per FHFA's 2017 Scorecard for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Common Securitization Solutions, the Enterprises must identify major challenges for LEP borrowers in accessing mortgage credit, analyzing potential solutions, and developing a multiyear plan appropriate for the Enterprises to support improved access. FHFA looks to learn more about the procedures and tools that loan originators, servicers, and other parties in the mortgage lending process currently utilize to assist LEP borrowers through this RFI. e agency would like to identify the existing requirements, including laws and regulations that guide practices for interacting with LEP borrowers, and to better understand the challenges in effectively serving this population. e FHFA reported that the number of LEP individuals in the United States has significantly increased over the past few decades. According to the most recent American Community Survey, 9 percent of the population—or 25 million individuals—are considered LEP. Among those, 64 percent speak Spanish, 7 percent speak Chinese, 3 percent speak Vietnamese, 2 percent speak Korean, 2 percent speak Tagalog, and 2 percent speak Russian. By 2060, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 national projections, the share of the population that is foreign born will grow to 19 percent from approximately 13 percent currently. Along with that, the amount of mortgage borrowers should increase, as well. ough the Enterprises already offer information and translated documents— primarily in Spanish—on their prospective websites, the FHFA continues to hear from stakeholders that LEP negatively impacts access to credit. Qualified borrowers may avoid applying for a mortgage due to language barrier concerns. Conversely, they may rely too heavily on others that are not as familiar with the mortgage process, thereby increasing their risk of being steered into a predatory loan and in turn, experiencing difficulties when navigating loss mitigation options if they fail to pay their mortgage. Input should be submitted electronically or via email by July 10. FDIC BANK REVENUES RISE 12.7 PERCENT FDIC-insured banks and savings institutions brought in $44 billion in income during the first quarter of 2017, according to the Quarterly Banking Profile released by the FDIC in May. is marks a 12.7 percent jump—or $5 billion— over one year earlier. According to the FDIC, the increase in earnings was largely due to a 7.8 percent jump in net interest income and a 3.4 percent rise in noninterest income. More than half of FDIC-insured institutions saw year-over-year growth for Q1. Just 4.1 percent of institutions were unprofitable, down from 5.1 percent a year ago. "Revenue and net income growth were strong, asset quality improved, and the number of unprofitable banks and 'problem banks' continued to fall," FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said. According to Gruenberg, community banks also had a quarter of "solid revenue and net income growth." FDIC-insured community banks reported income of $5.6 billion for the quarter—a 10.4 percent increase over Q1 2016. Community banks also saw net operating revenues rise (7 percent), as well as net interest income (7.1 percent) and noninterest income (6.8 percent). Total loan and lease balances at FDIC-insured institutions were up 4 percent, though that growth rate is down compared to last month's 5.3 percent. Total loan balances dropped by $8.1 billion over the fourth quarter of 2016, due in part to declining credit card balances—which dropped 5.5 percent. "In the past two quarters, the industry has seen a slowdown in loan growth that is broad- based across major lending categories," Greunberg said. "is slowdown has occurred as the economy approaches the end of the eighth year of a relatively modest expansion. Still, loan growth has remained at or above nominal GDP growth." On a positive note, the number of banks on the FDIC's "Problem Bank List" declined during the first quarter of 2017, dropping from 123 to 112. is dip marks the smallest number of "problem" banks since March of 2008. Problem banks peaked at 888 during Q1 2011. According to Fannie Mae Economic & Strategic Research Group's June 2017 Economic and Housing Outlook report, second quarter economic growth will rebound to 2.9 percent from last quarter's 1.2 percent, while consumer spending growth is expected to return to its traditional role as the biggest contributor to economic growth. KNOW THIS

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