Consumer Finance

Our Consumer Finance Institute researches how people earn, spend, save, and invest, as well as how credit markets and payment systems affect the economy. Our goal is to foster a healthy consumer sector, a stable financial system, and a resilient regional and national economy.

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Consumer Credit

Discussion Paper

Which Debt Payments Do Borrowers Prioritize? Evidence from 2025–2026 Consumer Survey Data

DP 26-01 – This paper uses survey data to examine how consumers prioritize their monthly debt payments for housing (including rent), auto, credit card, and student loan debt when they are unable to pay all their monthly bills.

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Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Lender File

The HMDA Lender File includes characteristics of firms receiving mortgage applications and originating loans. The data set enables users to connect HMDA filers to their parent organizations and compare a filer’s lending over time.

Consumer Finance

Working Paper

Model Risk in Physical Risk Models

WP 26-35 – Model risk is the uncertainty in model-derived point estimates of unobserved risks. This paper studies model risk in the setting of residential physical risk assessment by analyzing the outputs of two prominent risk modelers.

Vehicle Purchase Intentions and Perceptions of Ownership Costs: Insights from the April 2026 LIFE Survey

This report uses the Philadelphia Fed’s Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey, fielded in April 2026, to assess the financial burden of vehicle ownership costs and households’ near-term intentions to purchase a vehicle.

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Recent Trends in Renter Financial Security and Homebuying Intentions

This report uses the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey to study the recent experiences of renters.

Event

Sep

10-11

2026

Higher Education Finance Research Conference

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia