Center for Community Development Investments

About the Center – Background on the mission, staff and Advisory Committee for the Center, including contact information

Regulatory Resources – Information from the Federal Reserve Board, the OCC and other regulatory agencies on community development investing under the Community Reinvestment Act.

Regulation and Q&A: An excerpt from the Community Investment Act regulations and selected Questions and Answers related to Qualified Investments (originally printed in March 2002 Community Investments) (PDF - 56KB)

OCC Part 24 Community Development Investments: A comprehensive guide from the OCC covering the implementing regulation for community development investment authority (12 CFR 24) and including resource materials such as forms, directories and various publications (off-site)

FDIC Community Development Investment Guide: This online guide assists state non-member banks in assessing community development investment opportunities. It explains the types of investments state non-member banks are authorized to make and how those investments may meet the requirements of a CRA-qualified investment. (off-site)

Federal Reserve Board Community Development Investments: This web page provides guidance on Federal Reserve policies and guidelines governing bank investments for community development. Groups interested in understanding the type of community development investment that financial institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve System can make will find links that describe the steps required to pursue such investments. (off-site)

OTS Community Development Investment Authority - a guide to the federal laws and regulations governing community development activities of savings associations. Includes discussions of thrift investment authority, the qualified thrift lender test, and capital treatment of community development activity. (PDF - off-site)

FFIEC: The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) website (off-site)

Investment Vehicles – Separate sections on eight different vehicles used for community development investing, each including a brief summary of the vehicle, a longer article explaining the use of each vehicle and its place in the market, and a listing of resources and providers

Research and Publications – Summaries of and links to research studies and articles on community development investment issues

• Understanding the Relationship Between Investment Test Examination Criteria and Investment Test Ratings: an analysis of the relative weight of quantitative and qualitative considerations in arriving at Investmet Test ratings.
• Qualified Investments: summary of investment test results from 2001 CRA examinations performed by the four regulatory agencies for banks located in the Twelfth District (PDF - 356KB)
• Qualified Investments: summary of investment test results from 2000 CRA examinations performed by the four regulatory agencies for banks located in the Twelfth District (PDF - 729KB)
• Webcast on CRA Investments - this 2004 webcast discussed the CRA
  Investment Test regulations and exam procedures
• OCC’s Directory of National Bank Community Development Investments: analysis of investments made by national banks (PDF, off-site)
• FRB’s 2002 Community Development Investments Directory: descriptive profiles of CDC’s and related entities in which bank holding companies and state-chartered banks have invested

Articles: selected articles on community development investing

• The Investor's Toolkit offers an introduction to the concept of managing
  financial assets using a strategy that maximizes economic performance
  and social and environmental returns
• Micropolitan Community Reinvestment Trusts
• Qualified Investments: how to Make Investment in Your Communities Count
• Excerpts from the National Conference on Community Development Investments (PDF - 126 KB)

Research organizations: links to organizations currently doing research in the field of community reinvestment.

Training and Conferences – Information on training opportunities and conferences in the community development investment field

Other Resources – Links to a variety of off-site resources with information on community development investments and socially responsible investing

• The Financial Innovations Roundtable seeks to develop ideas that link conventional and non-traditional lenders, investors and markets to provide increased access to capital in low-income communities. The site includes extensive research and discussion among national experts on access to capital and access to financial services for low-income communities.
• The Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies that connect the poor and underemployed to the mainstream economy.
• Social Investment Forum is a national nonprofit membership organization promoting the concept, practice, and growth of socially responsible investing. The site features a Community Investing Guide and a variety of news and research resources.
• The Calvert Social Investment Foundation has investment, research, and donation products that support community development organizations nationwide. Through socially responsible investment, the Foundation supports affordable housing, microcredit, and social enterprise programs.
• The goals of the MixMarket are to facilitate exchanges and investment flows, promote transparency, and improve reporting standards in the global microfinance insustry.
• The Blended Value Map explores the intersection of financial, social,
  and environmental value that is created by investment activity, and
  identifies ways to maximize these value elements.
• Social Edge is a Skoll Foundation program that provides information and
  resources to social entrepreneurs and philanthropists.