Advocacy, Coalitions, Community Benefits

NCRC leads campaigns, community coalitions, advocacy with federal regulators and negotiations with banks to fulfill their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Since 2016, banks have pledged more than $80 billion in lending and philanthropy through community benefits agreements negotiated with NCRC. We also serve as watchdogs, analyzing essential data to identify misbehaving financial institutions in our members’ communities.

Here are a few of our recent accomplishments:

Recent Victories

• NCRC and Iberia announce $6.7 billion agreement
• NCRC and Santander announce $11 billion agreement
• NCRC and KeyBank Announce Landmark $16.5 Billion Community Benefits Agreement
• Huntington Bank and National Community Reinvestment Coalition Announce $16.1 Billion Community Development Plan
• Fifth Third Bank and National Community Reinvestment Coalition Announce $30 Billion Community Development Plan

What is the CRA?
The CRA is a law that requires banks to serve the credit needs of communities where they take deposits, including low- and moderate-income communities. The law was passed in 1977 to reverse redlining patterns, and promotes neighborhood revitalization. CRA makes wealth building more accessible by creating access to responsible home ownership opportunities, basic banking services, and capital for small businesses. The CRA also calls on banks to support affordable housing, small business development, social services and neighborhood stabilization in low- and moderate-income communities. Since its inception, advocates such as NCRC, have used the CRA to secure trillions of reinvestment dollars for underserved communities.

Click here for a manual on the CRA and here to learn more about the CRA’s widespread benefits.

Community Reinvestment Summits
NCRC hosts community reinvestment summits where stakeholders get together to discuss the most important issues facing their community and how to productively address them through working in coalitions. We have recently convened summits in Oregon, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, and Louisiana.

How can you use the CRA?
NCRC offers crucial support to our members on how to use the CRA. NCRC provides research on bank behavior in your community, strategic consulting on how to approach banks, and other assistance to our members that increases their power to create positive outcomes for the neighborhoods they serve. We have brought hundreds of community groups into community benefits agreements with financial institutions.

Please contact NCRC for more information and to learn about the benefits of NCRC membership.

Policy Work
NCRC also works with legislators and regulators to strengthen the CRA, so that underserved communities have greater access to credit and capital.

Recent publications and materials on CRA:

• The Community Reinvestment Act at 40: A Careful Review of the Reviews

• CRA Performance Context: Why it is Important for Community Development and How to Improve it

• CRA: Vital for Neighborhoods, the Country, and the Economy
• NCRC Testimony on the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act and CRA