Working Paper
Not Cashing In on Cashing Out: An Analysis of Low Cash-Out Refinance Rates
WP 23-04 – More than half of borrowers who have both home equity and high-interest loans fail to reduce their overall debt burden by folding this high-interest debt into a lower-interest mortgage when they undertake a mortgage refinance.
Featured Work
Working Paper
Missouri’s Medicaid Contraction and Consumer Financial Outcomes
WP 20-42/R – In July 2005, the state of Missouri implemented a series of cuts to its Medicaid program. These cuts resulted in the elimination of the Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities program, more stringent eligibility requirements, and less generous Medicaid coverage for eligible individuals.
Brief
Cryptocurrency Ownership: Insights from the CFI COVID-19 Survey of Consumers
Since the early 2010s, the rise of so-called cryptocurrencies has received significant attention from financial market participants, policymakers, and academics. Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies (such as bitcoin, Ethererum, Litecoin, and many others) in which transactions are verified and records are maintained by a decentralized, distributed ledger system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority.
Article
Can Everyone Tap Into the Housing Piggy Bank? Racial Disparities in Access to Home Equity
This working paper, recently published by the Atlanta Fed, explores racial disparities related to home equity access.
Featured Data

CFI COVID-19 Survey of Consumers
To gain insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial security in the U.S., the Consumer Finance Institute at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia conducted a series of national surveys of consumers beginning in April 2020 and concluding in April 2022.
Updated: 30 May ’23

A Map of Racially Restrictive Covenants in the City of Philadelphia
An interactive look at the impact of discriminatory real estate practices on the people and economy of Philadelphia.
Updated: 17 Jun ’22