Overview
The CRA was originally passed in 1977 in response to systemic redlining and disinvestment. The CRA is one of a series of civil rights laws passed around the same time, including the Fair Housing Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
Under the CRA and other fair lending and consumer protection laws, banks have a responsibility to reinvest and lend equitably and responsibly in our communities. The CRA only works if we use it! Rather than preserve, better enforce, and strengthen the CRA, the Trump Administration wants to substantially weaken it. Through the CRA, community members and organizations have regular opportunities to engage with banks and bank regulators on how well they are meeting local needs. ANHD is now working to preserve and strengthen the CRA.
The Project
ANHD has a long-standing history of working to ensure that the CRA is upheld, and that New York City’s marginalized communities are reinvested in sufficiently and responsibly. We use our original research, expertise in the CRA and other bank regulations, and our network of community groups to regularly participate in the regulatory process. In response to recent threats to the CRA, we are now also focusing our attention to advocate for the CRA to be preserved and strengthened.
The CRA Must Be Preserved & Strengthened!
How do CRA-Regulated banks help you and your community?
- Bank branches and affordable, accessible banking products
- Affordable mortgages to buy a home or stay in a home
- Loans to help small businesses operate and expand
- Financing for affordable housing, economic development, and community services – the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is just one example
- Investments in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and credit unions that serve individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit developers
- Philanthropic grants to nonprofits that develop, advocate for, and support affordable housing, economic development, financial empowerment, and community services
Why do we need to preserve & strengthen the CRA?
- Discrimination in lending is still a problem for Black and Brown people.
- Speculative multifamily lending and lending to bad acting landlords contributes to harassment and displacement.
- Banks continue to close branches and charge high fees for banking.
- CRA covered lending is safer and less likely to result in foreclosure than non-CRA covered lending.
- Online bank lenders lend nationwide yet are only evaluated on their lending around their headquarters. Non-bank lenders are not covered by the CRA, meaning no regulator evaluates how equitably they are lending, nor do they have any obligation to reinvest in local communities.
- Low-income communities of color have disproportionally fewer bank branches and do not have the banking products they need to conduct transactions and build wealth.
The OCC is proposing changes that threaten the very heart of the CRA, and put at risk the work we all do to serve and empower lower-income communities of color.
Learn more about those threats.
We must fight for the right priorities. Click "read more" to see our priorities or download a copy here.
Read morelessTake Action
Fair Lending Data at Risk!
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) records nearly every mortgage application in the country by census tract. It also tracks data on the outcomes of these loans as well as who is and isn’t getting mortgages based on race, ethnicity, gender, income, age, location, and more. Dodd Frank added myriad new data points to help analyze affordability, pricing, interest rates, and loan characteristics of 1-4 family and multifamily lending that can reveal further lending disparities and signs of predatory lending. The CFPB is now looking to roll back much of that data and limit the number of lenders who report to HMDA at all.
Recent Blogs and Media
- 1 of 6
- next ›
