InfoBytes Blog
Brainard discusses CRA reforms in Native American lands
On July 19, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard spoke before the National Native Coalition Virtual Series regarding the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). During her remarks, Brainard noted that in May, the Fed, FDIC, and OCC issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking modernizing CRA regulations to update how CRA activities qualify for consideration, where CRA activities are considered, and how CRA activities are evaluated (covered by InfoBytes here). Brainard called this a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen the CRA to bring greater credit, investment, and banking services to the communities that have faced the greatest challenges.” She further noted that “the CRA will provide powerful incentives for banks to make investments in communities that do not have access to branches, such as in Native lands.” Her speech then focused on several aspects of the proposal that are beneficial for Native communities. She stated that the NPRM “provides greater incentives for community investments in Native Land Areas by providing enhanced clarity and specificity about what activities qualify for CRA credit.” Noting that Native community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions “are critical players in supporting credit access and investment in Native communities,” Brainard explained that the proposal provides additional certainty that activities with Treasury-certified CDFIs will qualify for CRA consideration and provides greater clarity to banks on receiving credit for activities with MDIs. She also described “another important change” of the NPRM, which is that the proposal “would result in greater CRA activity outside of where banks have branches and physical locations in order to address unmet needs in communities that have more limited access to bank branches.” Brainard concluded her remarks by reminding the audience that comments on the NPRM are due August 5.