The story, based on a Fed study, is here. Excerpt:
New rules designed to make sure borrowers can repay their mortgages haven’t curtailed the ability to buy a home, a Federal Reserve study says.
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The Fed study didn’t find any evidence of credit restriction as a result of the rules.
For instance, black and Hispanic borrowers, who tend to have fewer assets and lower credit scores, actually saw their share of mortgages rise in 2014 after several years of decline. There also wasn’t much of a change in the frequency in which debt-to-income was cited by lenders as a reason for denial (it rose slightly for purchase applications and fell slightly for refinancing).
The Fed suggests the new rules had little effect because lenders had already tightened standards after the 2008 financial crisis. Lenders may also have adjusted to the new rules prior to implementation.
