National Urban League Opposes OCC’s Effort To Weaken Crucial Anti-Redlining Law
NEW YORK (May, 22 2020) -- Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, released the following statement in response to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s issuance of a final rule that imposes changes to implementation of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.
Notably, two of the three federal agencies charged with enforcing the CRA—the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation —did not join the final rule. Moreover, the Fed has proposed a different approach that better aligns with the original intent of CRA. The CRA was enacted in 1977 to combat generations of lending discrimination and redlining by requiring banks to better meet the lending needs of the communities in which they are chartered to do business, including underserved communities of color that continued to face barriers accessing credit despite the passage of crucial federal fair lending laws.
“While I share the view that technological advancements in the banking sector require modernization of the CRA, I am concerned that this OCC final rule represents a serious shift from the CRA’s original intent to address the history of redlining, disinvestment, and the market failures that continue to leave communities of color in America underserved.
“The OCC’s rule gives banks more credit for doing less CRA activity, resulting in significantly fewer lending opportunities and bank services for the many low- and moderate-income families nationwide who most need the vital access to capital made possible by the CRA. Worse, the OCC’s rule favors investments that are already served by current market trends and for which the CRA was never intended to serve. We appreciate the Federal Reserve’s leadership in proposing a change that aligns with the CRA’s original intent, and urge that the OCC’s final rule be immediately reversed.
“Racial discrimination in lending and access to financial services is alive and well, and we will hold the federal government accountable to its duty to ensure all Americans have equal opportunity to the American Dream of homeownership and financial security. As a civil rights organization devoted to promoting homeownership and fair lending laws, the National Urban League will continue to fight to maintain the full force of our federal civil rights laws—including the CRA.”
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its 90 local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people annually nationwide. Visit www.nul.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @NatUrbanLeague.