The Washington Post, January 30, 2020: Crucial Bank Law Softened Under Trump Proposal
The Community Reinvestment Act has, over the past four decades, spurred hundreds of billions of dollars in lending to low- and middle-income communities. But it’s out of date and in need of an overhaul.
The Trump proposal aims to broaden the definition of what constitutes a bank’s community — taking into account that online banking now exists — while broadening the types of loans and services that would qualify under CRA. Under the administration’s new proposal, banks could get credit for other types of lending to low-income customers like credit cards and personal loans — a move that would greatly benefit the largest of the country’s banks because they already dominate those lines of business.
