CRA

Republican Sen. Pat Toomey criticized the degree of "opacity" surrounding some community benefit agreements, or written deals between banks and community groups ahead of a merger that often involve billions of dollars of commitments.

Trade groups submitted a wide range of complaints to regulators throughout the Community Reinvestment Act's comment period, including concerns about the revamp's timeline and how the proposal would evaluate online banking activity.

Bank and financial services supervisors have an affirmative duty to address the deep economic divide facing minorities in the U.S.

The Community Reinvestment Act has failed to reduce anti-Black racial discrimination in financial services, to lower poverty or to lessen environmental destruction.

The central bank has a long history of diluting the effectiveness of the Community Reinvestment Act.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency made good on a promise to rescind Community Reinvestment Act reforms finalized by ex-Comptroller Joseph Otting as part of talks with other regulators on an interagency overhaul of the law.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s pledge to rescind Trump-era Community Reinvestment Act reforms and work with other regulators suggests that an interagency agreement is within reach. But outstanding issues remain, particularly around the treatment of online banking activities.

Community development financial institutions could do more lending in low-income neighborhoods if policymakers relaxed accounting rules, increased government support and encouraged more investment from hedge funds and other nonbank lenders.

While federal regulators attempt to overhaul the Community Reinvestment Act for banks, Congress has shown little interest in applying it to other lenders. But recent moves in Illinois and New York have given some stakeholders hope that state lawmakers will pick up the slack.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency confirmed it will rescind an unpopular rule overhauling the Community Reinvestment Act and joined other agencies in calling for a renewed interagency effort.