ABSTRACT
This chapter explores whether the problems facing the nation's financial institutions after the mortgage crisis have influenced how banks participate in and plan to support community development finance activities. The findings of the chapter are based largely on interviews with bank officers and community development experts, including entities of varying sizes and perspectives on community development. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was passed in 1977 to address the issue of access to affordable credit and financial services. The CRA states that regulated financial institutions have a continuing and affirmative obligation to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered to do business, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institutions. The consistency of the CRA framework throughout the financial crisis is an important reason why many of the largest banks have continued to support the same types of community development activities as before the crisis.
