EdLoC Signs On To Joint Proposal to Address Discrimination in Banking and Housing Systems

The first major overhaul of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 is being proposed by the three federal agencies charged with regulation of the statute. EdLoC is joining Prosperity Now and organizations across sectors to provide feedback that would strengthen and modernize regulations to avoid discriminatory or predatory practices in the nation's banking and housing systems.

What is the The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)?
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted to respond to the harmful impacts of redlining, which was a systemic practice of refusing home loans to Black, Indigenous, and immigrant households. The CRA was designed to encourage regulated banks to help meet the credit needs of local communities. The rules impact fair housing, fair lending, access to capital and credit and community development and reinvestment activities in low and moderate-income communities. Fair lending and access to credit are key for activities like going to college, buying a home, and starting a business - which research shows make a difference in building wealth.

The inter-agency proposed CRA rules are long overdue and reflect necessary changes to the banking industry. While the proposed rules strengthen the CRA, they fall short of evaluating bank lending and investment rates based on race or ethnicity, which limits the ability to hold banks accountable for addressing the existing racial wealth gaps.

Call to Action
To this end, Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) has signed on to a letter addressed to the agencies that regulate CRA, requesting that the proposed rule require banks to gather and report disaggregated racial and demographic data as part of the CRA exams.

You can find the full draft letter here.

If you wish to sign on to Prosperity Now’s letter, you can do so here. The deadline to sign on is Thursday, August 4 at 12 pm EST.