michelle w bowman : mortgage market regulation and access to mortgage credit speech ( via webcast ) by ms michelle w bowman, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at " opportunities and challenges for homeownership, " a virtual roundtable discussion, bozeman, 1 october 2020. * * * good afternoon, everyone. thank you to montana state university ( msu ) for hosting today ’ s event and for that very kind introduction. it is wonderful to see the success of your community banking program here at msu and your commitment to investing in the education of future generations of community bankers. throughout the response to the pandemic, community bankers have continued to serve as the primary source of credit to small businesses and have continued to provide economic and financial support to communities across our nation. young people, like all of you engaged in this program, will very likely become the future leaders of these institutions, which are critical to their communities and to our economy and financial system. one of the most significant challenges facing community bankers today is navigating the complex regulatory framework. one area that has become more complicated is a line of business that has traditionally been the foundation for community banking, home mortgage lending. community bank leaders consistently tell me that significant regulatory burden related to making home mortgages has been a major reason they have scaled back their mortgage lending activities or exited the market altogether. along with tightened lending standards, this trend has made it harder for middle - and lower - income borrowers to obtain mortgage credit since the global financial crisis. fortunately, work is under way to relieve that burden, and i will highlight one effort in particular. but before i do, let me provide some context by reviewing the current state of the economy and its effect on homeowners and would - be homeowners. the covid - 19 pandemic and homeownership in the u. s. the covid - 19 pandemic is having a profound effect on individuals and families across the u. s. and throughout the world. while a strong recovery has begun, it is clear that there is still a way to go before we are back to the robust economy we experienced at the beginning of the year. these challenges are affecting homeowners and the lenders that provide credit to support them. many homeowners who have lost a job or have had their income affected by economic conditions have been able to work with their lenders, but such help may not be a long

for release at 4 : 30 p. m. edt march 22, 2021 statement by jerome h. powell chair board of governors of the federal reserve system before the committee on financial services u. s. house of representatives march 23, 2021 chairwoman waters, ranking member mchenry, and other members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the measures we have taken to address the hardship wrought by the pandemic. i would like to start by noting the upcoming one - year anniversary of the cares act ( coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security act ). with unanimous approval, congress provided by far the fastest and largest response to any postwar economic downturn, offering fiscal support for households, businesses, health - care providers, and state and local governments. this historically important legislation provided critical support in our nation ’ s hour of need. as the virus arrived in force, our immediate challenge was to limit the severity and duration of the fallout to avoid longer - run damage. at the fed, we also acted with unprecedented speed and force, using the full range of policy tools at our disposal. today the situation is much improved. while the economic fallout has been real and widespread, the worst was avoided by swift and vigorous action — from congress and the federal reserve, from across government and cities and towns, and from individuals, communities, and the private sector. more people held on to their jobs, more businesses kept their doors open, and more incomes were saved. but the recovery is far from complete, so, at the fed, we will continue to provide the economy the support that it needs for as long as it takes. as we have emphasized throughout the pandemic, the path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus. since january, the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths has fallen, and ongoing vaccinations offer hope for a return to more normal conditions later this year. in the meantime, continued social distancing and mask wearing will help us reach that goal. - 2indicators of economic activity and employment have turned up recently. household spending on goods has risen notably so far this year, although spending on services remains low, especially in sectors that typically require in - person gatherings. the housing sector has more than fully recovered from the downturn, while business investment and manufacturing production have also picked up. as with overall economic activity, conditions in the labor market have recently improved. employment rose by 379