Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) voted to propose wholesale changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Gregg Gelzinis, policy analyst for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
The Community Reinvestment Act was signed into law more than 40 years ago to combat discriminatory lending practices and ensure that taxpayer-insured banks provide the financial services that low- and moderate-income communities across the country need to thrive. The regulatory changes proposed by the FDIC and the OCC undermine that critically important goal, despite evidence that redlining persists in communities throughout America. The proposal would allow banks to focus on the most profitable CRA-eligible activities and geographies while disinvesting from others—without harming their CRA ratings. The proposal would also expand the scope of CRA-eligible activities in a way that waters down the focus on low- and middle-income communities.
Much like with other financial regulatory changes during this administration: Banks win, while communities of color lose.
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