Community Development Innovation Review
February 2009
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Past issues
The 30th Anniversary of the CRA: Restructuring the CRA to Address the Mortgage Finance Revolution
Described by Congressman Barney Frank as “a market-friendly model” for bank reform, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was passed by Congress in 19772 to fuel reinvestment as a cure for urban blight, and to promote access to mortgage capital to remedy the adverse implications of persistent redlining. In deference to concerns about unsound and unprofitable loans, the CRA did not establish specific benchmarks or levels of credit, nor did it provide much guidance as to how regulators should evaluate bank performance. Instead, the CRA created an affirmative obligation for banks to reinvest in poor communities.
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Other articles in this issue
A Framework for Revisiting the CRA
The Community Reinvestment Act and the Recent Mortgage Crisis
The CRA within a Changing Financial Landscape
The Community Reinvestment Act: Outstanding, and Needs to Improve
It’s the Rating, Stupid: A Banker’s Perspective on the CRA
The Community Reinvestment Act at 30 Years
A Tradable Obligation Approach to the Community Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act: Past Successes and Future Opportunities
A More Modern CRA for Consumers
CRA Lending During the Subprime Meltdown
Expanding the CRA to All Financial Institutions
What Lessons Does the CRA Offer the Insurance Industry?
The Community Reinvestment Act: 30 Years of Wealth Building and What We Must Do to Finish the Job
The CRA as a Means to Provide Public Goods
Putting Race Explicitly into the CRA
Community Reinvestment Emerging from the Housing Crisis
A Principle-Based Redesign of HMDA and CRA Data