Responsible Banking

About

Banks are key community financial institutions, with an obligation under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to lend and provide services equitably, and to reinvest in the areas where they do business. Too often, however, banks do not act as responsibly as they should, and underserve or even harm low- and moderate-income New Yorkers, people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized populations.

Why This Matters

Banks matter to people and communities; people need a place to do their banking, and community groups need financing to support their missions to build affordable housing, increase access to jobs, and more. Responsible banking ensures that these financial institutions are being held accountable to our neighborhoods, offering New Yorkers access to banking and credit, including small business loans or loans to buy an affordable home. It also ensures that tenants are not at-risk of harassment, fueled by speculative loans.

What We're Doing

ANHD is holding banks accountable to the New York City communities they serve to ensure just and equitable banking through policy research, coalition building, and organizing and advocacy.

Recognizing that the CRA only works if the community gets involved, we provide original research, including our annual “State of Bank Reinvestment in NYC” report, and regularly submit comments on CRA exams, as well as advocate for banks to have forward-looking CRA plans at the time of mergers.

We are tackling the “predatory equity” crisis by using sophisticated building finance and market research to identify the most-at risk buildings, and working with our network of organizing groups to proactively outreach to banks and ensure their lending practices are sound. We are also advocating for banks to adopt principles of responsible multifamily lending to ensure that their lending does not fuel displacement.

Check out the associated projects below for more information on how we are fighting for responsible banking.

Recent Blogs and Media

Press Release
December 19, 2023
Efforts to prioritize tenant voices, address building conditions, and shift the NYC housing narrative to recognize housing as a human right remain high amidst the FDIC’s initial sale of Signature’s property portfolios and rent-stabilized/rent-controlled loans.

Related Resources

An annual city-wide analysis of key threats to affordable housing broken down by neighborhood
An annual analysis of local bank reinvestment activity and the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act
A new analysis of lending data under the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) of the home mortgage market in New York City.
An annual analysis of local bank reinvestment activity and the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act
New York is a city of renters, but nearly a third of New Yorkers own their own homes. The stock of 2-4 family homes provides an important source of affordable rental housing in many neighborhoods.
Trends in 1-4 family home lending in NYC based on newly released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from 2016
Stories and studies have long demonstrated disparities in small business lending, particularly for minority- and women-owned businesses, but we lack the data to quantify these disparities and hold...
An annual analysis of local bank reinvestment activity and the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act
A bad landlord damages a community, sometimes with serious consequences. In the case of Ved Parkash’s 750 Grand Concourse, the building’s long-term rodent infestation problems recently flared up into...

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