CRA

A deal between TD Bank and a Vermont nonprofit is just one example of how banks are getting creative in addressing affordable housing needs while reaping financial and regulatory benefits.

While there are ways to improve the Community Reinvestment Act for the modern era, steps must be taken to ensure the law is not weakened in the process.

The pledge comes as Fifth Third, which had previously committed $30 billion to community development, looks to close on its acquisition of MB Financial in Chicago.

City National Bank said the foundation will buy houses and hold onto them until the buyer lines up financing.

“We have actually discouraged banks from innovating,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in announcing a move that other agencies have made.

Through the "Where We Live" program, the bank will direct philanthropic giving to two wards in the nation's capital and provide financing for affordable housing.

Better web access, paid for by banks, could go a long way toward moving the unbanked into the mainstream. It was one of many ideas batted around at a recent a conference on the role fintech can play in promoting financial inclusion.

Jeff Szyperski wants regulators to update the definitions of assessment areas under the Community Reinvestment Act, and remove 'arbitrary' asset thresholds from bank regulation in general.

College prospects cite the financial crisis as one reason they are passing on community bank jobs to join fintechs.

Policymakers must avoid reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act that would reopen the door to the predatory lending practices that contributed to the mortgage meltdown.