CRA Compliance Resources
Learn more about the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, with expert regulatory compliance resources and training.
CRA Compliance Resources
Free Guide to CRA Modernization
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Community Development Tracker Sheets
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CRA Compliance Blogs
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What is the Community Reinvestment Act?
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exists to encourage financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, particularly in low and moderate-income neighborhoods.
CRA aims to combat redlining, a discriminatory lending practice where financial institutions would avoid providing credit or financial services to certain communities based on their racial or economic characteristics. The CRA focuses on:
- Encouraging Responsible Lending: The CRA seeks to ensure that banks and other financial institutions are actively serving the credit needs of all segments of the communities in which they operate, including low and moderate-income individuals and neighborhoods.
- Promoting Fair Access to Credit: The law is designed to prevent discriminatory lending practices and to promote fair access to credit and financial services for all individuals, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or income level.
- Evaluating Institutions' Performance: Under the CRA, financial institutions are subject to periodic evaluations of their lending practices, investment activities, and services provided to the communities they serve. These evaluations assess whether the institutions are adequately meeting the credit needs of the community, including low and moderate-income areas.
- Providing Transparency and Accountability: The CRA requires financial institutions to make information about their lending and investment practices available to the public, thereby promoting transparency and accountability.
- Encouraging Community Development: The CRA encourages financial institutions to participate in community development activities, such as affordable housing initiatives, small business lending, and support for community organizations.
Below you'll find complimentary tools, resources, upcoming and on-demand training that can help you improve your CRA and Community Development compliance.
On-Demand CRA Compliance Training
Prepping for the Proposed Interagency CRA Rule Webinar Recording
It’s been 27 years since the federal bank regulatory agencies overhauled the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. On May 5, 2022, after several false starts over recent years, the agencies issued a proposal to strengthen and modernize regulations implementing the CRA. The CRA proposal features several significant revisions.
This two-hour webinar recording examines the agencies’ proposed rules and provides a framework for you to begin planning for the CRA final rule.
How to Obtain and Retain an Outstanding CRA Rating Webinar Recording
Every bank (small, intermediate small or large) would like to obtain an Outstanding CRA rating, but only a very small percentage of banks actually achieve this distinction. To receive an Outstanding CRA rating a bank must do everything necessary to obtain a Satisfactory rating, plus more. This program focuses on the “plus more.”
This recording reviews:
- Why a bank may want to seek an Outstanding CRA rating;
- The established criteria for an outstanding rating for each category of banks;
- The evolving criteria for obtaining an Outstanding rating under recent final regulations;
- The actual process of obtaining an Outstanding CRA rating; and
- A preview of how the proposed Interagency CRA Rules will impact the rating process.
Redlining: The Collision of Fair Lending and CRA
Since 2016, federal fair lending enforcement actions against financial institutions have ground to almost a complete stop. The only area in which actions have been taken against financial institutions is redlining.
This recording explains the concept of redlining and how to avoid the problem. It reviews recent redlining cases analyzing the problems in each institution that lead to the redlining charges, the penalties imposed, and the corrective action required in each case. It clarifies the concept of REMA.
You’ll receive a detailed manual that serves as a handbook long after the recording is completed.
Explore Upcoming Live Compliance Training Sessions
Explore our compliance training schedule here to discover upcoming online training opportunities for your institution.
