The President’s latest emergency budget request for hurricane Harvey and the other recent disasters is only $18.7 billion. As CNN Money reports, that pales in comparison to the more than $306 billion the federal government put away last year alone for disasters. And in Texas alone, the estimated cost of this year’s disasters is already $110 billion, most of which has yet to be put toward rebuilding and restoration.
But during a time of crisis, it’s these smaller victims who need federal help the most. Private lenders aren’t waiting for big-time government aid, instead voluntarily and proactively putting up money to rescue people who need loans to rebuild their homes, said Julianne Compton, director of lending for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“In every state, we’re seeing cases of private lenders and businesses stepping up and lending money to people,” she said.
In response to the recession, banks, regional credit unions and some nonprofit organizations offered affordable loans to borrowers throughout the country at record rates, Compton said. Since the recession, government aid has become the preferred way to provide recovery money to the American public, particularly to those affected by last year’s hurricanes.
As a result, she said, lenders are now “filling the void.”