CRA provides incentives for safe and sound lending, and should be applied more broadly throughout the financial services industry to safeguard against another economic crisis similar in scale and magnitude as the current one the US now suffers. Mr. Gramm’s recent op-ed demonstrates that sadly, he just doesn’t get it.
NCRC’s annual conference “Roadmap to a Financially Inclusive Society,” held in Washington, DC, featured a workshop that was a real eye-opener: “Reclaiming REO Properties: Avoiding Blight and Decay in Neighborhoods Afflicted With Foreclosures.” What I took away with me was that the acronym “REO” does not just refer to banking jargon –- but to our new social reality. A reality that calls for a bail out of the true champions of the foreclosure crisis: the housing counselors. Might you lend a hand to these champions?
“No more bull.”
This should become the mantra for what happens when an organization places more emphasis on its logo and marketing efforts than it does on carrying out and communicating about its core values—or on the values of the people and communities that it serves as customers and clients. And if ever I needed a case study to prove my point, just look at today’s massive financial industry collapse!
We are all outraged by unearned bonuses received by certain AIG employees. Yet, a productive way to channel this outrage is to ensure that the AIG’s of the world serve communities, particularly historically disenfranchised communities. Join NCRC in advocating for applying CRA broadly throughout the financial industry and in supporting the CRA Modernization Act of 2009, HR. 1479, introduced by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas.
It’s not just about the bonuses. Nor is the solution taxing bonuses at bailed-out firms. It’s about regulating speculation gone wild and it’s about investing in and for communities.
