Revisiting the CRA: Perspectives on the Future of the Community Reinvestment Act

With the current financial crisis providing strong impetus for regulatory reform, a re-examination of the CRA seems both appropriate and likely. Revisiting the CRA is a timely publication intended to help frame and inform the current debate about the future of the CRA.

A joint publication of the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston and San Francisco, Revisiting the CRA: Perspectives on the Future of the Community Reinvestment Act features papers and essays from a range of informed authors and contains important new arguments about expanding CRA, the limits of CRA, and the basis for CRA.

Major topics addressed by the book include the following:

• Is the CRA still needed?
• Should CRA-like obligations be extended to other types of financial institutions?
• Should the CRA target low and moderate income people instead of geographies?
• Should race and ethnic origin be introduced as CRA considerations?
• Should the CRA focus more on the terms and price of credit, rather than mere access to credit?
• Should “process” be evaluated rather than, or in addition to, outputs?

In concert with the release of the publication, a lively discussion was held where many authors and discussants shared their views at Revisiting CRA: A Policy Discussion on February 24, 2009 in Washington, DC and audio files are available.

Please contact co-editor Prabal Chakrabarti for more information.

Entire Report (2.85MB)

Introduction

Foreword (162KB)
Eric Rosengren and Janet Yellen

A Framework for Revisiting the CRA (252KB)
John Olson, Prabal Chakrabarti, and Ren S. Essene

The CRA and the Recent Mortgage Crisis (266KB)
Randall Kroszner

Background

The 30th Anniversary of the Community Reinvestment Act: Restructuring the CRA to Address the Mortgage Finance Revolution (279KB)
Ren Essene and William Apgar

The CRA Within a Changing Financial Landscape (946KB)
Robert Avery, Marsha J. Courchane, and Peter M. Zorn

Articles

The CRA: Outstanding, and Needs to Improve (420KB)
Roberto Quercia, Janneke Ratcliffe, and Michael A. Stegman

It’s the Rating, Stupid: A Banker’s Perspective on the CRA (317KB)
Mark Willis

The Community Reinvestment Act at 30 Years (546KB)
The American Bankers Association

A Tradeable Obligation Approach to the CRA (306KB)
Michael Klausner

The CRA: Past Successes and Future Opportunities (523KB)
Eugene A. Ludwig, James Kamihachi, and Laura Toh

A More Modern CRA for Consumers (313KB)
Ellen Seidman

CRA Lending During the Subprime Meltdown (469KB)
Elizabeth Laderman and Carolina Reid

Commentary

Expanding the CRA to All Financial Institutions (263KB)
Liz Cohen and Rosalia Agresti

What Lessons Does the CRA Offer the Insurance Industry? (249KB)
Bridget Gainer

CRA 2.0: Communities 2.0 (248KB)
Mark Pinsky

The CRA: 30 Years of Wealth Building and What We Must Do to Finish the Job (394KB)
John Taylor and Josh Silver

The CRA as a Means to Provide Public Goods (230KB)
Lawrence B. Lindsey

Putting Race Explicitly into the CRA (261KB)
Stella J. Adams

Community Reinvestment Emerging from the Housing Crisis (283KB)
Michael S. Barr

A Principle-Based Redesign of HMDA and CRA Data (358KB)
Adam Rust

The CRA: Good Goals, Flawed Concept (248KB)
Lawrence J. White

Appendix

A Banker’s Quick Reference Guide to CRA (119KB)