Eric Belsky, Yi-Ru Chen, Mark Duda,
Gary Fauth, Dawn Patric, Madeline Pill, Nicolas Retsinas
and Alexander Von Hoffmann.
Organization:
The Joint Center for
Housing Studies - Harvard University
March 2002
Methodology:
Joint Center Enhanced HMDA Database,
11 discussion groups, over 100 in-depth interviews.
Primary conclusions:
CRA has expanded access
to mortgage capital.
CRA-regulated lenders originate
more home purchase loans to low-income people and communities than
they would if CRA did not exist.
The restructuring of the mortgage industry
may be lessening the impact of the CRA.
The diverse impact of the CRA is reflected
in the local structure of the mortgage lending industry and the
nonprofits working on CRA-related projects in their communities.
Interviews with CRA lenders reveal that compliance
activities are profitable, productive of good will, or both.
In the era of new mortgage projects, advocacy
groups have had an increasingly difficult time assessing the impact
on low-income communities.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of
1999 did little to bring CRA into conformance with the rapidly evolving
financial services world.
