Editing Community Reinvestment Act (section)

{{Short description|US federal law}}
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{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with a [[redevelopment agency|community redevelopment agency]], also called by the acronym "CRA".}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = Community Reinvestment Act
| othershorttitles  = Indian and Alaska Native Community Development Act
| longtitle         = An Act to amend certain Federal laws pertaining to community development, housing, and related programs.
| colloquialacronym = 
| nickname          = Housing and Community Development Act of 1977
| enacted by        = 95th
| effective date    = October 12, 1977
| public law url    = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-91/pdf/STATUTE-91-Pg1111.pdf
| cite public law   = 95-128
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|91|1111}}
| acts amended    = 
| acts repealed   = 
| title amended   = [[Title 42 of the United States Code|42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare]]
| sections created =
| sections amended = {{Usc-title-chap|42|69}} § 5301
| leghisturl      = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d095:HR06655:@@@R
| introducedin    = House
| introducedbill  = {{USBill|95|H.R.|6655}}
| introducedby    = [[Henry S. Reuss]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[Wisconsin|WI]])
| introduceddate  = April 26, 1977
| committees      = [[United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs|House Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs]], [[United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs|Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs]]
| passedbody1     = House
| passeddate1     = May 11, 1977
| passedvote1     = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/h203 369-20]
| passedbody2     = Senate
| passedas2       = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation -->
| passeddate2     = June 7, 1977
| passedvote2     = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/s177 79-7], in lieu of {{USBill|95|S.|1523}}
| conferencedate  = September 26, 1977
| passedbody3     = Senate
| passeddate3     = October 1, 1977
| passedvote3     = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/s513 54-19]
| agreedbody3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreeddate3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedvote3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedbody4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreeddate4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreedvote4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4     = House
| passeddate4     = October 4, 1977
| passedvote4     = [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/95-1977/h577 384-26]
| signedpresident = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| signeddate      = October 12, 1977
| unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| unsigneddate    = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| vetoeddate      = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| amendments      = 
| SCOTUS cases    = 
}}
The '''Community Reinvestment Act''' ('''CRA''', P.L. 95-128, 91 Stat. 1147, title VIII of the '''Housing and Community Development Act of 1977''', {{USC|12|2901}} ''et seq.'') is a [[United States federal law]] designed to encourage commercial [[bank]]s and [[savings and loan association|savings associations]] to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.<ref name="fdic.gov">[http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/6500-2515.html#6500hcda1977 Text of Housing and Community Development Act of 1977 — Title VIII (Community Reinvestment)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916032800/http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/6500-2515.html |date=2008-09-16 }}</ref><ref name="ABC">{{cite web|url=http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/Commentary/2000/1100.htm|title=The Performance and Profitability of CRA-Related Lending|last1=Avery|first1=Robert B.|last2=Bostic|first2=Raphael W.|last3=Canner|first3=Glenn B.|date=2000-11-01|work=Economic Commentary|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland|access-date=2008-10-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007045205/http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/commentary/2000/1100.htm|archive-date=2008-10-07}}</ref><ref name="Federal Reserve">{{cite web|url=http://www.federalreserve.gov/dcca/cra|title=Community Reinvestment Act|publisher=Federal Reserve Board (FRB)|access-date=2008-10-05 }}</ref> Congress passed the Act in 1977 to reduce discriminatory credit practices against low-income neighborhoods, a practice known as [[redlining]].<ref name="Bernanke">{{cite web|first=Ben S.|last=Bernanke|title=The Community Reinvestment Act: Its Evolution and New Challenges|url=http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/Bernanke20070330a.htm|work=Prepared Speech by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve System before the Community Affairs Research Conference|publisher=Federal Reserve System (FRB)|date=March 30, 2007}}<blockquote>CRA is designed as a simple test for how financial institutions are meeting obligations to serve the convenience and needs of the local market where they are located. This principle is one that federal law governing deposit insurance, bank charters, and bank mergers had embodied long before the enactment of CRA.</blockquote></ref><ref name="30years">[http://financialservices.house.gov/hearing110/ht021308.shtml "The Community Reinvestment Act: Thirty Years of Accomplishments, but Challenges Remain"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430023055/http://financialservices.house.gov/hearing110/ht021308.shtml |date=2009-04-30 }},  February 13, 2008<br />
This hearing before the full House Committee on Financial Services examined the impact of CRA on the provision of loans, investments and services to under-served communities. In addition to exploring CRA's success, the hearing hoped to examine challenges that prevent the law from being more effective for the future. '''|'''  [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_house_hearings&docid=f:41181.pdf Printed Hearing: 110-90](PDF)</ref>

The Act instructs the appropriate federal financial supervisory agencies to encourage regulated financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered, consistent with safe and sound operation ([[s:Community Reinvestment Act of 1977#Sec. 802.|Section 802]]). To enforce the statute, federal regulatory agencies examine banking institutions for CRA compliance, and take this information into consideration when approving applications for new [[Branch (banking)|bank branches]] or for [[Mergers and acquisitions|mergers or acquisitions]] ([[s:Community Reinvestment Act of 1977#Sec. 804.|Section 804]]).<ref name="St. Louis Fed">{{cite web|url=http://www.stlouisfed.org/community_development/cra.cfm#main|title=The Community Reinvestment Act|publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis|access-date=2008-10-06|archive-date=2010-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615005155/http://stlouisfed.org/community_development/cra.cfm#main|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Holc redlining 1937.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|The CRA was passed to discourage [[redlining]], a practice originally based on [[Home Owners' Loan Corporation]] "residential security maps", like this 1937 security map of Philadelphia.]]