Community Development Innovation Review

February 2009
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Putting Race Explicitly into the CRA

Author(s):

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was designed to correct market failures thirty years ago. The reimagining of CRA must address the remnants of twentieth-century market and government failures with twenty-first century solutions. Financial institutions and regulators must revisit the intent of the CRA, which states that regulators are “to assess an institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community [emphasis added], including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institution.” I proffer that the entire community includes racial and ethnic minorities, and the CRA should be expanded to address directly these underserved parts of the community.

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Other articles in this issue

CRA Lending During the Subprime Meltdown

A Banker’s Quick Reference Guide to CRA

The Community Reinvestment Act: Good Goals, Flawed Concept

A Principle-Based Redesign of HMDA and CRA Data

Community Reinvestment Emerging from the Housing Crisis

The CRA as a Means to Provide Public Goods

The Community Reinvestment Act: 30 Years of Wealth Building and What We Must Do to Finish the Job

CRA 2.0: Communities 2.0

What Lessons Does the CRA Offer the Insurance Industry?

Expanding the CRA to All Financial Institutions

A Framework for Revisiting the CRA

A More Modern CRA for Consumers

The Community Reinvestment Act: Past Successes and Future Opportunities

A Tradable Obligation Approach to the Community Reinvestment Act

The Community Reinvestment Act at 30 Years

It’s the Rating, Stupid: A Banker’s Perspective on the CRA

The Community Reinvestment Act: Outstanding, and Needs to Improve

The CRA within a Changing Financial Landscape

The 30th Anniversary of the CRA: Restructuring the CRA to Address the Mortgage Finance Revolution

The Community Reinvestment Act and the Recent Mortgage Crisis