The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted in 1977 to help meet the needs of borrowers in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods and since then banks have invested trillions of dollars into underserved communities. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are now working to update CRA for the first time in decades.
While the banking industry has evolved significantly over the last 40+ years, CRA has largely remained untouched since 1995. Banks have long called for policymakers to modernize CRA to reflect today’s banking landscape and leverage the innovative capabilities of financial institutions to optimize investments and reach more people and communities in need.