Community Reinvestment Act

The Community Reinvestment Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act hold great promise for the creation of a more financially inclusive nation, but both depend on critical “moments in time” in Congress that will determine whether they become good laws or are weakened beyond recognition

Housing discrimination continues to plague the market, as does the myth that the housing crisis resulted from extending homeownership and home mortgage credit to historically underserved groups: minority families. Even with the Obama administration’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan and, within that, the Making Home Affordable program, minority groups continue to suffer ongoing discrimination and fair housing violations.

The current “bathtub recession” poses a drowning hazard for community development and housing groups, as philanthropic giving shrinks and foundations look beyond nonprofits for solutions to social problems.

The foreclosure crisis has pushed the envelope so far, it’s left an opening where we can start building a real national housing policy.

For decades, community developers have relied on the power of markets to bring neighborhoods back, but they can’t build their way out of the foreclosure mess.

CDCs now recognize that art and cultural activities can be useful tools toward building a community’s identity, meaning, and spirit. But bank regulators have not yet reached a sufficient level of comfort with this new strategy.