Jobs and Capital for Communities Campaign Talking Points

Broader Access to the Tools for Prosperity
We are calling on Congress to pass the American Community Investment Reform Act of 2010 (HR 6334), so that all of our neighborhoods can prosper. We need:
•    Loans for small businesses that create jobs;
•    Loans for credit-worthy homeowners, who provide stability for neighborhoods and families;
•    Investments in neighborhood assets, such as affordable housing developments, that serve community needs; and
•    Basic banking services, including savings and checking accounts, which allow communities to build wealth.

Economic Recovery
HR 6334 will also help neighborhoods and the economy recover. To do so, we need safe and sound lending and job creation. HR 6334 will help turn around these trends created by an irresponsible financial sector:

  • More than 8 million homes experienced foreclosure since 2007. An additional 7-8 million more foreclosures are expected in the next two years.
  • More than $6 trillion in home equity wealth has been lost since 2006, undermining our neighborhoods, and destroying the American Dream for countless families.
  • 2009 saw the largest annual decrease in bank lending since the Great Depression. Only 40% of small businesses have had their borrowing needs met, according to the Federal Reserve.
  • The estimated number of Americans households with no access to mainstream financial services ranges from 10-40 million. Payday lenders thrive in underbanked communities.


How Does HR 6334 Work?
HR 6334 will expand and strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by:

  • Covering non-bank institutions such as independent mortgage companies, investment banks, and hedge funds;
  • Including other companies the bank owns;
  • Strengthening the section of the CRA exam that covers community development lending and investments; and
  • Making CRA exams tougher, with a revised grading system and higher standards for the top rating.

Why Won’t HR 6334 Cost Taxpayers Money?
The lending and investing done under CRA is at no cost to taxpayers, because the law requires financial institutions – not the government – to serve all our communities with safe and sound lending.

Next Step in Financial Reform
Congress must continue their work fixing our banking system; they passed a bill in July 2010 that created an agency to protect consumers from bad loans, and now we need to expand and strengthen the obligations that banks and other lenders have to serve all communities. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) established these obligations in 1977, but the financial landscape has changed dramatically since CRA was first introduced, with new types of financial institutions that lend. CRA can be made stronger by adding these new institutions and by making the law stronger for all lenders it covers.

Get Involved
To receive the latest campaign news, email Ian Keller at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and ask to join our Jobs and Capital for Communities listserv. Also, please visit www.expandcra.org so that you can:

CRA Toolbox Downloads

Download the CRA Toolbox (2.3mb)
Summary of the Community Reinvestment Act: What it Is and How it Works
The Community Reinvestment Act: Making Sure Loans Reach Creditworthy Consumers & Small Businesses
CRA Manual
NCRC Comparison of 'Model Bill' vs HR 1479 & HR 6334
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