The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve, and informally as the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created as a result of the particularly severe 1907 bank run, which itself was preceded by a series of other panics (from previous decades). When the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law on December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve System was established "to address these banking panics" and "that would help prevent and contain financial disruptions" like the Panic of 1907. Over time, the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System expanded and its structure evolved. Events, such as the Great Depression, were some of the major factors leading to changes in the system.
The Federal Reserve Banks have established Foreclosure Resource Centers to help address local and regional challenges in their mortgage markets and local communities. The map below links to these regional foreclosure centers, where you'll find resources for small municipalities, housing counselors, and consumer and community groups.
HUD's mission is to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination. To fulfill this mission, HUD will embrace high standards of ethics, management and accountability and forge new partnerships--particularly with faith-based and community organizations--that leverage resources and improve HUD's ability to be effective on the community level.
Today, our nation faces a severe financial crisis. It is a crisis of confidence, of capital, of credit and of consumer and business demand. Rather than providing the credit that allows new ideas to flourish into new jobs, or families to afford homes and autos, we have seen banks and other sources of credit freeze up - contributing to and potentially accelerating what already threatens to be a serious recession. Our Financial Stability Plan will help ensure that businesses with good ideas have the credit to grow and expand, and working families can get the affordable loans they need to meet their economic needs and power an economic recovery.
At Ginnie Mae, we help make affordable housing a reality for millions of low- and moderate-income households across America by channeling global capital into the nation's housing markets. Specifically, the Ginnie Mae guaranty allows mortgage lenders to obtain a better price for their mortgage loans in the secondary market. The lenders can then use the proceeds to make new mortgage loans available.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails.An independent agency of the federal government, the FDIC was created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. Since the start of FDIC insurance on January 1, 1934, no depositor has lost a single cent of insured funds as a result of a failure.
