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With the support of the Ford Foundation, the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy (or "Urban Center") and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University (or "Joint Center") have created Capital Xchange, a web-based journal dedicated to exploring the changing world of finance and capital.
A Changing Financial Landscape
Financial and capital markets are rapidly and fundamentally transforming. The past decade has witnessed a confluence of forces including the growing influence of non-bank financial intermediaries, the blurring of traditional boundaries between financial institutions, increasing consolidation in the financial services industry and the rise of internet banking and other technological innovations. For many Americans, these changes have meant more choice and more control over their assets. Yet, the benefits of mainstream financial relationships have not extended to many poorer communities and low-income families.
Capital Xchange: A Journal About Transforming Markets and Transforming Places
Capital Xchange will feature opinion articles by leading thinkers and practitioners in the financial sector and seek to infuse new energy into policy and market reforms. These articles will explore four fundamental sets of questions:
1. What are the spatial implications of the changing world of finance and capital? What do the changes in the conventional financing of single family and multifamily housing, commercial real estate and small business mean for different places? What market opportunities and regulatory imperatives are critical to pursue to ensure maximum access to mainstream capital?
2. What are the characteristics of the alternative financial institutions that serve poorer communities? How can we better define the continuum between institutions that legitimately serve credit needs and those that strip equity and deplete wealth? What regulatory improvements can accurately distinguish between these disparate functions?
3. What is the future of the community reinvestment sector? What will a changed regulatory climate mean for this sector? How can this sector further evolve through institutional reforms and improved relationships with mainstream institutions?
4. How can we build stronger relationships between mainstream financial institutions and low-income families? What are the most promising strategies for helping these families manage their expenses, increase savings and build wealth?
Capital Xchange will be a collection of provocative, accessible articles that public officials, private sector investors and lenders, non profit leaders, real estate practitioners and community organizations can rely on to spark their thinking. Bruce Katz, Director of the Urban Center, and Nicolas Retsinas, Director of the Joint Center, will edit the journal. The journal will be found at the two organizations' web sites, (www.brookings.edu/urban and www.gsd.harvard.edu/jcenter) and will feature interactive "chats" with journal authors and provide links to important internet resources.
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