What is the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)? Do CRA Regulations Help or Hurt Business Women?
Filed in: Glossary of Bills and Laws As U.S. leaders discuss how to turn the economy around, one of the issues Republicans have brought up is the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Republicans have stated that CRA government regulations lead to or even created the subprime mortgage crisis, and serves as an example of why government regulation should be relaxed. I decided to write about CRA because it is not a “mortgage” law. CRA also addresses commercial business loans, and was enacted to help curtail discriminatory lending practices that largely impacted communities with high minority populations. Women in these areas were hit particularly hard as they were unable to access credit, purchase homes, or expand their businesses. Why Was the Community Reinvestment Act Necessary? The CRA was enacted in 1977 under the Jimmy Carter administration “to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs [includi
