Community Development: Policy Insights

Connecting the CRA to WIOA: Promising Policies for Bank Responsiveness to Workforce Development

This article makes the case for banks and their partners to generate both economic and social returns for their communities by providing examples of engagement in workforce development activities that may assist with their fulfillment obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Expanding Affordable Housing Options (Part 1): Overview of Duty to Serve

Duty to Serve (DTS) requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to facilitate a secondary mortgage market in three underserved markets – manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural housing. The goal of the program is to provide more homeownership and rental housing options for households with very low, low and moderate income. This Policy Insight provides an overview of the program, which began implementation in January 2018.

Expanding Affordable Housing Options (Part 2): Implementation of Duty to Serve

This article focuses on the specific actions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac intend to take before December 2020 to fulfill their commitment to meet the needs of three markets: manufactured housing, rural housing and affordable housing preservation.

The State Small Business Credit Initiative

Our Community Development team examines how the U.S. as a whole and how the states that are part of the Federal Reserve’s Eighth District—Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee—met the financing needs of small businesses located in low- and moderate-income and rural areas. Additionally, this article focuses on the important role community development financial institutions played in the SSBCI program.