News Topic: CRA

A deal between TD Bank and a Vermont nonprofit is just one example of how banks are getting creative in addressing affordable housing needs while reaping financial and regulatory benefits. ... Read full article

While there are ways to improve the Community Reinvestment Act for the modern era, steps must be taken to ensure the law is not weakened in the process. ... Read full article

The pledge comes as Fifth Third, which had previously committed $30 billion to community development, looks to close on its acquisition of MB Financial in Chicago. ... Read full article

City National Bank said the foundation will buy houses and hold onto them until the buyer lines up financing. ... Read full article

“We have actually discouraged banks from innovating,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in announcing a move that other agencies have made. ... Read full article

Through the "Where We Live" program, the bank will direct philanthropic giving to two wards in the nation's capital and provide financing for affordable housing. ... Read full article

Better web access, paid for by banks, could go a long way toward moving the unbanked into the mainstream. It was one of many ideas batted around at a recent a conference on the role fintech can play in promoting financial inclusion. ... Read full article

Jeff Szyperski wants regulators to update the definitions of assessment areas under the Community Reinvestment Act, and remove 'arbitrary' asset thresholds from bank regulation in general. ... Read full article

College prospects cite the financial crisis as one reason they are passing on community bank jobs to join fintechs. ... Read full article

Policymakers must avoid reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act that would reopen the door to the predatory lending practices that contributed to the mortgage meltdown. ... Read full article

The Federal Reserve System is trying to be proactive in these and other high-profile areas, offering educational materials and coaching to bank execs and directors, according to supervision officials at the St. Louis and Richmond Fed banks. ... Read full article

The heavy workload is not limited to implementing the financial regulatory reform bill enacted last spring, as the agencies also work to craft reforms of the Community Reinvestment Act and adjust key capital measures for the biggest banks. ... Read full article

Readers weigh in on infighting at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, react to a push for open banking in the United States, consider small-dollar bank loans and more. ... Read full article

Better incentives to lend and invest in underserved communities are also worthy of consideration, Loretta Mester says, as regulators try to blend the best of the Community Reinvestment Act with new ideas in updating its rules. ... Read full article

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency lowered the $14 billion-asset thrift in Cleveland to “needs to improve” from "satisfactory." ... Read full article

Our 16th annual Most Powerful Women in Banking rankings; why Regions did away with teller jobs; small banks lagging in deposit share; and more from this week's most-read stories. ... Read full article

The agency has suggested several steps in its notice on reforming the law that could actually harm, not help, underserved communities. ... Read full article

Another regulator has already gone out on its own with an advance notice of proposed rulemaking. But, Powell said, "It’s a process and we’re very much interested in pushing forward.” ... Read full article