New CRA Resources for the New Year
Do you know where to find data relative to your bank’s CRA assessment areas? Could you write a performance context for your bank’s next CRA exam? Most of us in the community development field are familiar with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) broadly, but the San Francisco Fed now offers resources for those who are interested in digging a little deeper into the CRA.
Community Development Data Guidebook
The Community Development Data Guidebook is meant to serve as a “how to” for those interested in conducting more robust community development research. This type of community-based research, often termed performance context in the regulatory world, is critical to bankers looking to make impactful investments and loans pursuant to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements. It is equally critical to community development practitioners looking to maximize impact in the areas in which they operate. In the first part of the guide, we provide a variety of data resources, divided by topic area, along with a practical application of how to retrieve the data and commentary on what to do when you have it. In the second part of the guide, we include an example of how different data pieces can come together to produce a strong performance context.
Understanding Community Development Needs through the CRA Performance Context
This new working paper attempts to demystify the performance context and establish its strategic value to the CRA process. A truly responsive and innovative CRA program should begin with the “performance context,” or knowledge about the bank’s local markets, including the needs of the community as well as the opportunities that exist within the local network of resources and organizations. The paper explores new opportunities for strengthening the performance context as a community development tool, from the perspective of both bankers and regulators.
To learn more, visit our CRA page or listen to Understanding Community Development Needs through the Performance Context a Connecting Communities webinar held December 11, 2014.
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