Community Development Innovation Review
February 2009
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Past issues
The Community Reinvestment Act: Past Successes and Future Opportunities
More than 30 years ago, before passage of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), relatively few banks made meaningful numbers of loans to people with low and moderate incomes. Whether because of racial discrimination or fear of credit weaknesses, many banks “redlined” entire areas of American cities as places where they would not lend. Accordingly, most inner cities were islands of urban blight whose residents had limited access to capital. The prospects were scant for breaking the cycle of urban decay, except through direct government investment.
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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 30th Anniversary of the CRA: Restructuring the CRA to Address the Mortgage Finance Revolution
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
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