These groups recognize that bricks and mortar are not the only building blocks for distressed communities. Jobs, training, education, and opportunity are also vital components in the transformation of neighborhoods. Financial institutions have likewise been challenged to find new opportunities for development. Over the past decade, lenders have found new market niches, broken geographic barriers, employed advanced banking technologies, and developed sophisticated products and services to keep pace with ever-changing financial markets. In this dynamic environment, we continually search for information and knowledge to help us broaden our understanding of the issues facing both financial services and community development.
Research helps to inform our decisionmaking process.
It can help us define the issues or problems being addressed and sharpen our understanding of financial markets. It also offers us a means to challenge the assumptions we develop as we review policy options and revise regulations. Once rules and regulations are in place, research helps us measure and assess how well the law and our regulations are achieving their intended goals. Recently, one particular policy issue has emphasized the valuable role that research plays in informing the policy and decisionmaking process. Distressing reports of abusive lending practices connected with home-secured loans have captured our attention and prompted calls for regulatory action.