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Issues in Regression Modeling For Fair Lending Underwriting Analysis (Part 1 of 2)

Evaluating loan application outcomes (approval or denial) in the context of fair lending is referred to as an “underwriting analysis.” Regression modeling is commonly employed in such analyses.

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Recent FDIC Supervisory Report Indicates Strong Commercial Bank Loan Growth and Increasing Concentrations

The FDIC recent released its Winter 2016 edition of Supervisory Insights. This edition was focused on credit risk trends.

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What Does “Statistical Significance” Mean Anyway? Part 2 of 2

In our previous post, we started introducing the concept of statistical significance. We began with making two important points. First, statistical methods are applied in order to estimate or measure an unknown. A sample of data is analyzed which is then used to draw conclusions about a larger population. This is known as statistical inference. […]

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FDIC-Insured Institutions Earn $43.7 Billion in Fourth Quarter 2016, Community Bank Net Income Rises to $5.3 Billion

FDIC Chairman Gruenberg:“Revenue and net income were higher, loan balances grew, asset quality improved, and the number of unprofitable banks and ‘problem banks’ continued to fall,” Gruenberg said. “Community banks also reported solid results for the quarter and year with strong net income, revenue, and loan growth.

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What Does “Statistical Significance” Mean Anyway? Part 1 of 2

When statistical methods are applied to evaluate fair lending compliance, one of the metrics of interest is the statistical significance of measured differences in treatment of applicants. Such differences may be measured by such things as the interest rates charged on loans or the rates of denial for one group versus another (such as males […]

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Underwriting Analysis for Fair Lending Using Logistic Regression: Odds Ratio vs. Marginal Effects

When conducting fair lending regression analysis of underwriting, we are examining a sample of loan applications that were either approved or denied. The practice is to regress denial (y=1 if denied, 0=approved) on a target group indicator variable and other attributes upon which the loan decision should have been based.   

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To Be Successful in Fair Lending, Lenders Must Discriminate

Several years ago, I began a conference presentation by making the statement: “To be successful at fair lending, you must learn how to properly discriminate.” The statement was obviously meant to be provocative, and it must have worked because it was quite some time before I was invited back (just kidding). The statement, however, is […]

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Manage Customer Service Perceptions to Lower Fair Lending Risk

In a previous post, we addressed the importance of customer service as a component of managing fair lending risk. While it is important for an institution to have efficient processes in place to facilitate the lending process, equally important is the recognition that business is relationship.

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Handling Missing Data in Fair Lending Regression Analysis

Missing data is a common problem in econometric analysis in general and fair lending analysis specifically.

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Use of Credit Cards is On the Upswing

The Center for Microeconomic Data’s latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit shows that total outstanding credit card debt was $747 billion at the end of September.

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