Neighborhood-Based Reinvestment Strategies: A Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Guidebook

摘要

This guidebook is designed to provide neighborhood organizations with information about assessing community credit needs, developing strategies for reinvestment, and using the Community Reinvestment Act and related statutes to bring such plans and strategies to fruition. A background in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) provisions and enforcement is provided. Reporting requirements which allow citizen access to reinvestment information at thousands of lending institutions across the country are detailed, and the CRA regulatory enforcement process which community organizations can use to promote affirmative lending is outlined. The steps and resources community groups can use to construct reinvestment strategies peculiar to their own needs are also presented. The methods for analyzing lenders' reinvestment policies and programs and comparing them with one another are also described, and some of the most important CRA issues, such as the composition of credit available for communities, the geographical distribution of this credit, and the criteria used by regulators for assessing CRA compliance, are discussed. The manual shows ways for community organizations to influence lending practices and contribute to reinvestment strategies by using the CRA public files, and it describes the steps and strategies for negotiating with lenders and local governments for reinvestment. Further, the requirements and opportunities for filing protests against applications for branches and other facilities are outlined. The special problems of rural credit and urban displacement are discussed, and other Federal tools which community groups can apply in their reinvestment strategies are summarized. Appended are the CRA law and regulations, a list of regulatory agencies and regional districts, research sources for assessing community credit needs, a bank CRA statement, a model loan policy agreement, and organization resources. Notes, 16 references, and a table are also supplied.