Resources: CRA Modernization CDFI Survey

Federal Reserve Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Community Reinvestment Act

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to modernize the regulation used to implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The ANPR offers the Fed’s approach to strengthening, clarifying and updating the regulation to reflect modern banking and credit access needs, while maintaining its core purpose. The notice is open to public comment for 120 days on the Federal Register, and all comments must be received on or before Feb. 16, 2021.

To learn more about the ANPR, access fact sheets and find links to the Federal Register notice, please visit the Federal Reserve Board’s announcement.

The CRA, enacted in 1977, requires federal financial regulatory agencies to encourage regulated financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of their local communities, including low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.

Learn more about the CRA and how the St. Louis Fed supports depository institutions and the public in identifying credit needs within communities—along with responsive ways to meet these needs.

New Survey Findings Highlight CDFI Work through COVID-19

Key findings from the Fed’s COVID-19 CDFI Survey are now available.

From mid-July through mid-August 2020, the Federal Reserve fielded the COVID-19 CDFI Survey in partnership with the CDFI Fund, Opportunity Finance Network, the CDFI Coalition, the Native CDFI Network, the Community Development Bankers Association, Inclusiv, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, NeighborWorks America, the New York State CDFI Coalition and the Asociación de Ejecutivos de Cooperativas de Ahorro y Crédito de Puerto Rico.

The effort gathered information from 229 CDFIs (community development financial institutions) on the financial impact of COVID-19, participation in economic relief efforts, operational changes and effects on clients.

Key findings include:

• Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents were either slightly or somewhat concerned about their CDFI’s ability to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents cited operational support, access to capital and loss loan reserves as key forms of additional government support needed to weather the economic impacts of the pandemic.
• Lending capital streams from non-government sources — including financial institutions — remained strong through the first several months of the pandemic. Still, loan loss reserves are a top concern for CDFIs. Sixty-one percent of reporting CDFIs experienced a decrease in their loan loss reserves from the end of 2019 through mid-2020.
• Throughout the pandemic, CDFIs have leveraged government, community and philanthropic economic relief programs to support their operations and serve their clients. Forty percent of CDFIs in the survey received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding, and 19% supported their communities as PPP lenders.

Connect with CDFIs in your community: National CDFI Directory (PDF)