Community Affairs Research Conference — Opening Remarks

On behalf of the Federal Reserve System, I would like to add my welcome to the fifth Community Affairs Research Conference. These biennial meetings are a unique opportunity for academics, policy makers and community development professionals to gather together and consider new research findings that can inform our judgments on a variety of issues. I applaud the organizers for compiling such an interesting and provocative program. This year's conference, on the financing of community development, focuses squarely on the ability of credit markets to deliver benefits to a broad spectrum of borrowers. This topic could not be more timely. The slowdown in the housing market we experienced in 2006, together with the increase in delinquencies on recent-vintage adjustable rate subprime mortgages has brought the difficulties experienced by many subprime borrowers and lenders into the spotlight. This has led some observers to question whether the expansion of credit we have experienced in recent years has been beneficial at all. The passionate commentary that these developments have provoked highlights, I believe, the value of careful, objective research on consumer financial markets.