In the News

Matos noted that the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has for years conducted tests where it sends pairs of individuals with identical profiles — one white, one a person of color — to lending institutions. The disparate results have suggested discrimination exists across the board.

Data that Wells Fargo shares with the federal government that was analyzed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition show the bank makes relatively few loans to low- to moderate-income borrowers in Dallas County. 

In a study akin to a “mystery shopper” experiment, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found discrimination throughout multiple phases of the loan application process. During 43% of their tests, a white applicant was treated more favorably than a Black applicant whether it was through encouragement for applying, the products offered or the breadth of helpful information provided by the bank.

Earlier this month, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) held its 30th annual conference. But in a session titled “The Stories We Tell: Journalism for a Just Economy,” the organization broke new ground, initiating a new conversation for the group regarding the intersection of journalism and economic justice.

Better Markets is pleased to announce that Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Chief of Membership, Policy and Equity at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and Donnel Baird, Co-Founder and CEO of BlocPower, have joined the Board of Directors.

Responsible banking ordinance was developed in part by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition which advocates for greater reinvestment by banks in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods and has drafted model legislation that local governments can work from.

Banks, overwhelmed by applications, “failed to live up to the goals of a 44-year-old federal law that requires them to equitably serve all communities where they do business,” according to Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a fair-lending group.

A recent report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition ranks the city as one of the most intensely gentrifying cities in the U.S. 

Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell recently voiced his support for expanding the federal CRA to all institutions that make consumer loans. “Like activities should have like regulation,” Powell said last week to the annual conference of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nationwide network of community development and fair housing groups. It would take legislative action from Congress to do so.

Regarding the influence of fintech on the supply of services, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition wrote, “…the digital financial providers may not have much of an impact in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods since customers unfamiliar with banking are less likely to engage in significant digital banking transactions.”

Pittsburgh is one of the most gentrified cities in the country, according to a 2019 report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, when Federal Reserve Chairman Powell recently spoke at a National Community Reinvestment Coalition event, he telegraphed his view saying, “like activities should have like regulation.”

Jesse Van Tol, chief executive of the fair lending group National Community Reinvestment Coalition, said the disparities show that banks failed to live up to a 44-year-old federal law that requires them to equitably serve all communities where they do business.

Commercial banks are closing branches around the country — more than 3,300 last year alone, a record high. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition says 14 percent of all operational U.S. bank branches closed between 2008 and 2020.