Views Archives

March 25, 2019March 26, 2019 by Josh Silver

Increasing community development financing data a necessary component for CRA reform

Data on community development lending and investing is lacking on a census tract level, making the information incomplete and difficult to assess. However, this is not the case for home mortgage lending data and small business loan data. If the federal regulatory agencies truly want to reform CRA, the first place to start is with better data. It would be a win-win for both banks and community organizations by facilitating identification of underserved areas. It would also further CRA’s objectives of directing access to credit and capital where it is needed most.

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March 7, 2019March 14, 2019 by Bruce Mitchell

Book review: The Color of Money

As explanations of the racial wealth gap and the persisting structural inequality of the U.S. economy, Dr. Mehrsa Baradaran’s 2017 book, The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, is the ideal shelf-mate to Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, published the same […]

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January 9, 2019January 10, 2019 by Josh Silver

Robust data on home lending essential to fair and equitable treatment of borrowers

In order for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protect millions of consumers from unsound lending, the agency must implement the public disclosure of the enhanced Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data in a rigorous manner that provides comprehensive and public information about loan terms and conditions. NCRC has a mantra about the importance […]

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December 7, 2018December 7, 2018 by Josh Silver

Analysis of public comments on the Community Reinvestment Act

Banks want more certainty and easier exams, but points of consensus emerge.

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November 15, 2018 by NCRC

Audio: What is going on with the Community Reinvestment Act?

Listen to this discussion hosted by NCRC’s Senior Civil Rights Investigator Rose Ramirez, featuring Community Reinvestment Act Manager Kevin Hill and Senior Community Reinvestment Act Advisor Josh Silver on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding CRA and what it means to communities throughout the country.

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November 12, 2018November 13, 2018 by Jesse Meisenhelter

Affordable homeownership allowed my family to refinance after a health crisis

Like most beneficiaries of the Community Reinvestment Act, I was completely oblivious to this invisible law. Now I am grateful every day, seeing how clearly my parents’ homeownership transformed my life.

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October 12, 2018October 12, 2018 by Jesse Van Tol

Long live CRA!

Today marks the 41st anniversary of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a law that was supposed to end discrimination that was once common in America’s housing and banking markets. Although not as widely known as other iconic releases of 1977 including the very first Star Wars movie, Fleetwood Mac’s album Rumours, or the Apple II […]

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October 12, 2018October 12, 2018 by Josh Silver

Warren housing bill presents a clear choice on CRA

As concerned citizens and practitioners in the affordable housing and community development fields, we now have a clear choice regarding the direction of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Senator Elizabeth Warren and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (under the leadership of Comptroller Joseph Otting) have each offered contrasting visions for the […]

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August 29, 2018 by By Karen Kali and Robert Zdenek with Erika Brigantti, Gaines Langford and Jonathan Osei

Charting the future course of Age-Friendly Banking

Living Longer: We Need Age-Friendly Banking Like most institutions, the American banking system must evolve to meet current needs. Although we all age, and although people on average are living longer and healthier lives, our society has yet to adjust for this substantial demographic shift. Age-Friendly Banking is a set of recommendations that NCRC has […]

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August 21, 2018 by Jesse Meisenhelter

#TreasureCRA: a summer recap

While the wheels of government slowed down for summer vacations, NCRC was busy organizing for what we anticipate will be a major battle over the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The 1977 law requires banks meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income communities. This summer, NCRC and our members met with the leaders of all […]

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