American Banker, August 25, 2025, Even opponents of Biden CRA want to preserve part of the rule
Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, said in his comments that the 2023 rule created retail lending-based assessment areas for large banks that do more than 20% of their lending outside of branch networks, as well as a nationwide evaluation outside of assessment areas for all large and midsized banks that did the majority of loans outside of local branch networks.
“For the CRA to stay relevant it must account for how banks offer loans and services, which for an increasing number of institutions is outside of branch networks,” NCRC’s comment letter states. “This expansion of assessment areas would likely result in more lending to borrowers with [low-and- moderate income] and in LMI communities.”
In the NCRC letter — in which the group is joined by 113 other community oriented groups, including the NAACP, Rise Economy and Beneficial State Bank — the groups stress that the 1995 rules fail to capture how banks operate today, lack transparency in ratings and deprive regulators and the public of critical data. In their view, rescinding the 2023 rule would worsen systemic inequality, as lending can be a major driver of homeownership, key for generational wealth in the U.S.
