In Brief: Activists Want CRA Hearing on BankAmerica

Four community groups urged federal regulators Tuesday to hold a public hearing on the community reinvestment efforts of BankAmerica Corp., Charlotte, N.C.

The groups also asked the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to require BankAmerica to issue quarterly reports comparing its community reinvestment activities in North Carolina and California.

Led by the California-based Greenlining Institute, the advocacy groups claimed in letters to Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and Comptroller John D. Hawke Jr. that NationsBank made "material misrepresentations of fact" in its application to merge with Bank of America.

The request for a hearing and stricter oversight of BankAmerica followed a similar appeal Dec. 18 by California Democratic Reps. Lucille Roybal- Allard, Nancy Pelosi, and Barbara Lee.

The Fed and the OCC declined to comment. Doug Wodruff, president of Bank of America's community development bank, said it would rather address community groups' concerns in private talks than in a public forum.

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