With proposed changes to Community Reinvestment Act rules expected in late summer or early fall, we must remind federal regulatory agencies not to diminish the importance of home mortgage lending in CRA exams.
The NCRC study, based on government exams of the nation’s 50 biggest banks, found some banks get credit for investments outside of their assessment areas (AAs) even when those banks underinvested in the areas they are supposed to serve first. Meanwhile, other banks get little or no credit outside of assessment areas.
Banks often tout the benefits of merging. The result depends on a variety of factors.
A version of this article appeared first in Conference of Consumer Finance Law, Quarterly Report, Vol. 72, No. 4 Introduction In 2019, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) will be forty-two years old.[1] Congress enacted the CRA in 1977 as a community development initiative that sought to leverage the financial resources of private sector institutions. Senator […]
In September 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released the results of a survey of 1,200 banks on small business lending in America. It found that small business lending is threatened by the decline of smaller banks and the reduction of bank branches in many communities. But just as revealing was what the survey didn’t find. More information that would be essential for policy and regulatory decisions remains concealed, invisible to the public.
Testimony of Jesse Van Tol, CEO, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, April 25, 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina, at a hearing on the proposed BB&T/SunTrust bank merger with the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. My name is Jesse Van Tol, and I am the […]
The Community Reinvestment Act: Assessing the Law’s Impact on Discrimination and Redlining Introduction: Public input and accountability are the keys to CRA’s success I thank Chairman Meeks and the members of this subcommittee for providing me the honor of testifying this morning regarding the Community Reinvestment Act’s (CRA) impact in combating discrimination and redlining. […]
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.
The job of massive integration seems overwhelming, but the impetus to pursue diverse neighborhoods appears to be underwhelming. The national racial divide is stark. Segregation impedes overall economic prosperity since large segments of the population are poorly educated and cannot obtain high-skilled jobs. Segregation also poisons our politics by preventing communication and thus deepening conflict […]
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 […]
