Houston Chronicle, April 12th, 2019: Black real estate group focuses on community investment
The Trump administration is considering making changes to the Community Reinvestment Act to lessen the burden on financial institutions.
According to National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit that tracks lender community investment, the act has resulted in $980 billion investment since 1996. The bulk of investment is made in the form of loans in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
Other investments qualify as well, including becoming an equity partner in an affordable housing project or donations to groups like HBREA that engage in financial literacy training. Often, when banks are preparing for a merger and realize their compliance Community Reinvestment Act will be scrutinized, they will step up their philanthropic initiatives.
On April 3, the Treasury released a memorandum recommending changes to the way Community Reinvestment Act compliance is evaluated and re-examining how it will define whether banks meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of the communities. The changes could have wide-ranging consequences for how banks make loans, investments and donations in low-income neighborhoods.
