Solving the Credit Conundrum: Helping Consumers’ Credit Records Impaired by the Foreclosure Crisis and Great Recession

Abstract

The economic destruction of the foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession included not only the 4.5 million families who lost their homes and 8 million workers who lost their jobs, but the crippling aftereffect of poor credit histories that affected the ability of these consumers to obtain affordable credit, jobs, rental housing, and insurance. This white paper explores these aftereffects and proposes solutions to help afflicted consumers. It reviews both the harm to individual consumers and the wider impact on economic recovery. It also documents the credit reporting problems caused by errors and anomalies, and discusses the broader problem of relying on past credit history to judge future performance, arguing that such a broad-brush approach fails to distinguish between consumers who are simply unlucky and those who are truly irresponsible. Finally, the paper makes several policy recommendations to assist consumers whose credit reports were damaged by the foreclosure crisis and Great Recession.