The Hill, May 12, 2020: Banks Practice ‘Regulatory Distancing’ with CRA Reform
Just as social distancing turned our world upside down, bankers likewise practiced what I call “regulatory distancing,” criticizing their regulators from a safe distance, on the recent notice of proposed rulemaking on reforming the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which has not been updated since 1995.
This unprecedented regulatory distancing — with less than half the relative number of industry comments on the proposal, compared to the advance notice — is unfortunate. Both regulators and the public, especially bank customers and shareholders, have a right to know where their CEOs stand on CRA reform, instead of hearing from their trade associations or law firms.
