The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) mandates that banks invest in the communities they serve, with a particular focus on reinvestment efforts in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. Banks are required to fulfill this obligation by providing access to credit through safe, nonpredatory practices. Although these mandates are often viewed as compliance requirements, that perspective overlooks […]
“LULUs” sounds like a funny word, but the health burdens tied to LULUs are no laughing matter. Locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) – industrial sites, highways, power plants and waste facilities – are essential to how cities function. However, living close to them can also mean greater exposure to pollution, excessive noise and other environmental
A Guide to Creating CRA Strategic Plans with Transparency and Community Input.
Making CRA Strategic Plans Work: A Framework for Meaningful Community Reinvestment Read More »
The anti-redlining movement took shape in the 1970s as a response to long-standing obstacles that made it difficult for all communities to prosper. Financial companies engaged in redlining by mapping out neighborhoods they refused to serve. Loans to people of color were denied at higher rates, or originated at higher costs, to the borrower. Blind
Founded in 1973, the Empire Justice Center (EJC) is a legal advocacy nonprofit that fights for social and economic justice for disenfranchised New Yorkers by protecting and expanding their legal rights. Using a multi-pronged approach that focuses on litigation, education and advocacy efforts, EJC has provided services to more than 12 million people across a
After years of accelerating bank branch closures that doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, America’s bank branch network appears to be approaching a new historic low despite a slowing rate of closures. The most recent data shows that 584 net branch closures occurred between 2024 and 2025. This is a dramatic slowdown from the 200 net
Bank Branch Closures Slow, But Shifting Demographics Cloud the Picture Read More »
The formal segregation of housing finance imposed by 20th century redlining was officially withdrawn decades ago. Yet, the lines of those old redlining maps remain etched into the landscape of many American cities. Recently, we’ve been told by skeptics, like some academics and banks, that redlining is ancient history. That the federal and banking industry
Historic Redlining’s Effects on Home Mortgages Today Read More »
The nation’s largest crypto firms are looking to consolidate their power to the detriment of their customers and communities already lacking vital consumer protections and economic development opportunities. As more and more digital currency companies are vying for financial legitimacy by becoming a national trust bank via the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Locally-owned small businesses are almost universally admired. Yet, in a banking industry where bigger is seen as better, warm words rarely translate into hard cash. Small businesses have become a viable pathway towards economic mobility for entrepreneurs and the cornerstone of community development revitalization efforts in historically underinvested communities. However, minority-owned businesses have had to
Nestled in the heart of downtown Chicago, the Woodstock Institute has been working to advance economic justice and racial equity within financial systems at the local, state and national levels for over 50 years. The organization was founded in 1973 by Chicago philanthropists Sylvia and Aaron Scheinfeld as the program arm of the couple’s foundation
Investing in underserved communities takes more than a promise – it also takes a plan to keep that promise. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) has developed multiple techniques to ensure that bank commitments translate into meaningful change for historically disadvantaged neighborhoods and that the people who live there, and organizations that service them, have
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently announced plans to alter how banks are evaluated under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), one of the longest-standing laws to prevent redlining. The CRA directs the OCC to regularly analyze the number and quality of a bank’s loans, investments and services to historically underserved borrowers
The OCC’s Debanking Pivot Is Another Veiled Attack on CRA Read More »
Bank lobbyists’s new CRA lawsuit exposes the dishonesty and greed of a relatively small but well-resourced group of banks.
NCRC Statement On Bank Lobbyist Lawsuit To Block Community Reinvestment Act Rules Read More »
Online Event Archive Recorded December 6, 2023 Breaking down the rule and digging into how it will impact the fight for economic justice and racial equity is an ongoing process and you can expect to see more content and conversations from NCRC as we analyze the rule and gather feedback from our members and allies.
Video: CRA Final Rule Deep Dive Read More »
Online Event Archive Recorded November 3, 2023 Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, Chairman of the FDIC’s Board of Directors Martin Gruenberg and Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr joined NCRC President and CEO Jesse Van Tol to discuss the new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules. Speakers: Michael Hsu, Acting Comptroller
Video: The New Community Reinvestment Act Rule: What’s In It And What Will It Mean Read More »
