CA Community Reinvestment Act Campaign
Rise Economy is leading a campaign for a a state-level Community Reinvestment Act (state CRA) to ensure that financial institutions invest in all communities, address racial and wealth disparities, and help every Californian thrive.
Background/Problem:
The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, enacted to address the effects of redlining, requires banks to invest in low-income communities. While the federal CRA has funneled billions into historically underserved areas, challenges persist in its form and implementation including:
Race Neutral Design: While the federal CRA encourages investments in low- and moderate-income areas, it doesn’t specifically target BIPOC borrowers or communities of color, despite ongoing redlining and disparities in access to credit.
Limited Scope: The law applies only to deposit-taking banks, excluding credit unions, non-bank lenders, and fintechs—leaving billions of dollars uninvested in underserved communities.
Weak Enforcement: Federal regulators have been lax in oversight, with nearly all banks receiving passing CRA grades.
Solution:
This CA CRA would fill these gaps by extending an obligation to provide equal access and reinvest in communities on state chartered banks, state chartered credit unions, state licensed independent mortgage companies, and certain fintech firms that offer bank-like services and products. In doing so the CA CRA will
Generate billions of dollars for affordable housing development and preservation, quality jobs, small business development, and fund low and moderate income homeownership programs.
Ensure equal access to credit and financial services for underserved communities.
Protect Californians from Trump Administration's deregulatory actions taken by maintaining data transparency and continued implementation of consumer protections against modern day redlining by empowering CA's own financial regulatory agency.
Join the campaign:
Please sign on to ensure that all of our state-chartered and licensed financial institutions are playing their part in building strong California communities: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQUHARTCpPl1EYWZzbXr_EFFVN2QKPOiZ5iJ1Xl3rAbwa-bA/viewform
If you have any questions, please reach out to Jyotswaroop Bawa (jbawa@rise-economy.org).
You can read the full 2-pager on the CA CRA draft bill factsheet here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14H4MWBwkUEVioV8ibW461A7bXJy440zk/view?ts=67913cdb