'High cost of low income' forum set March 17

3:27 p.m., Feb. 7, 2006--Issues concerning financial services in minority and other underserved communities will be discussed during a daylong Louis L. Redding Public Policy Forum, “The High Cost of a Low Income: Financial Services in Underserved Markets,” on Friday, March 17, at Clayton Hall Conference Center.

“Underserved communities face a number of challenges in gaining access to financial services” Leland Ware, Louis L. Redding Chair for the Study of Law and Public Policy, said. “These communities have seen an influx of financial service providers that are not part of the traditional banking community, such as payday lenders, who provide short-term loans of up to $500 through check-cashing outlets, pawnshops and independent storefront operations, with interest rates ranging from 30 to 910 annual percentage rate.”

Ware said groups representing a variety of interests have stepped up their efforts to increase financial literacy in low-income and minority communities to help those vulnerable populations in making important financial decisions.

“Our goal is to promote a constructive and informative dialogue about these issues,” Ware said.

The conference will include presentations and speeches by James H. Carr of Fannie Mae Foundation; Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn; Matt Fellowes, senior research associate at the The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.; Patrice Alexander Ficklin, associate general counsel at Fannie Mae; Delaware Bank Commissioner Robert A. Glen; Saundra Johnson, director of the Delaware State Housing Authority; Patricia Kelleher of the Wilmington YMCA; Delaware State Treasurer Jack Markell; James O'Neill, UD professor of economics; John Relman, an expert on fair housing and fair lending law from Washington, D.C.; and Josh Silver, vice president of research and policy at the National Community Reinvestment Council in Washington, D.C.

The conference will consist of two morning sessions, two afternoon sessions and a luncheon with a keynote speaker. Each session will conclude with a question-and-answer period with the audience, which will include attorneys, financial services professionals, community and consumer groups, students and the news media.

The forum is sponsored by UD's Institute for Public Administration and cosponsored by Center for Community Research and Service at UD, Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League and Delaware State Bar Association. Registration fees, including lunch, are $100 for general participants and $50 for nonprofit or government employees. UD students register at no cost, but they are not eligible for lunch.

For more information, visit [www.ipa.udel.edu/highcostlowincome].

Article by Martin Mbugua

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