Last Thursday, bank regulatory agencies announced plans to hold hearings around the country regarding the need to update the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Modernizing CRA has been a key goal of our campaign to hold big banks accountable.

Updating CRA is needed to get good, quality loans moving in our communities. It will require regulators to work with communities to evaluate banks and ensure they are making good, fair loans in all communities.

CRA was passed in 1977 in response to widespread mortgage ‘redlining’--the practice of denying moderate-income and minority communities access to home loan financing.

Now is the time to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act. As banks have gotten bigger and more complex, they’ve become less accountable to the communities they profit from, flooding us with predatory, high-cost loans. We need a law that can effectively regulate reckless lending practices, create greater transparency and accountability within our banking system, and ensure adequate investment in rebuilding our neighborhoods and the American economy.

Representatives from three of the four regulatory agencies that oversee banks were at our annual conference in May and agreed to work with us to update CRA.


Anna Alvarez-Boyd, of the Federal Reserve Board, Robert Mooney of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Barry Wides of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reiterated a commitment to addressing community concerns and to providing a solution for our country.

Mark your calendars for a CRA hearing in your area and let the regulators know we need bank accountability now!

Hearing Dates and Locations:

July 19, 2010 - Arlington, VA
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation L. William Seidman Center (3501 Fairfax Drive)
Submit comments on the following website: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/propose.html

August 6, 2010 - Atlanta, GA
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (1000 Peachtree Street Northeast)
Submit comments via email to regs.comments@ots.treas.gov. Please include ID OTS-2010-0019 in the subject line of the message and include your name and telephone number in the message.

August 12, 2010 - Chicago, IL
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (230 S La Salle Street)
Submit comments on the following website: http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm#other

August 17, 2010 - Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (950 South Grand Avenue)
Submit comments via email to regs.comments@occ.treas.gov. Please include “OCC” as the agency name and “Docket ID OCC-2010-0011” in your comment.

Please note: All hearings will begin at 9:00 a.m. Security clearance is required for entry. You will be contacted to obtain information necessary to enter the building locations and will be required to present picture identification. To ensure timely entry, please arrive 30-45 minutes prior to the published time for the hearings, as noted on your registration form.

Written Testimony and Comments: Presenters are encouraged to provide their written testimony five business days in advance of the requested hearing date via the websites and email addresses listed below.

If you do not plan to attend, written comments may be submitted by any interested person to any of the agencies at any of the sites noted above or as described in the Hearings Notice by August 31, 2010.  A sample comment letter is attached below.