Pittsburgh Logo
File #: 2020-0152    Version: 1
Type: Will of Council Status: Adopted
File created: 2/25/2020 In control: City Council
On agenda: 2/25/2020 Final action: 2/25/2020
Enactment date: 2/25/2020 Enactment #: 64
Effective date: 2/25/2020    
Title: NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh makes known its opposition to any modernization effort that seeks to also weaken or diminish the efficacy and intent of the Community Reinvestment Act, including OCC-2018-0008-1515, the rule change proposed by the OCC and FDIC; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Council encourages community development institutions, neighborhood groups, and other concerned organizations to help ensure that accountable, strengthening, and impactful investments remain the central focus of the Community Reinvestment Act by submitting their public comments to the federal government before April 8, 2020, the date that reflects the recently-announced 30-day extension to the comment period.
Sponsors: Corey O'Connor, Deborah L. Gross, Erika Strassburger, Bobby Wilson
Indexes: PROCLAMATION - MR. O'CONNOR, PROCLAMATION - MR. WILSON, PROCLAMATION - MRS. STRASSBURGER, PROCLAMATION - MS. GROSS
Body
WHEREAS, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was passed in 1977 as part of an effort to mitigate the effects of systematic redlining and corrosive deleterious under-investment in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color by mandating that banks and related financial institutions lend and offer services in a manner that's equitable, as well as back community development initiatives, in the very areas where they conduct their business; and

WHEREAS, as the CRA currently reads, "regulated financial institutions have continuing and affirmative obligations to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered," which speaks to the regulatory regime that the CRA created that monitors lending, investments, and services in low- and moderate-income communities that have historically been marginalized and too often left behind and subsequently assigns "grades" to lending institutions based on their performance in said communities; and

WHEREAS, banking and lending activity data analyzed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) shows that since 1996, CRA-covered banks issued almost $1.16 trillion worth of loans to close to 29 million small businesses and nearly $1.18 trillion worth of community development loans that went toward economic development projects and affordable housing initiatives, all in low- and moderate-income communities. Locally, the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), the region's CRA watchdog and advocacy entity composed of a multi-sector coalition dedicated to economic justice and equitable neighborhood revitalization, shows about $5 billion invested in community development; and

WHEREAS, home loans issued through the CRA are demonstrably safer than independently-issued financial products and neighborhoods with higher rates of CRA-covered lending than alternative options enjoy lower delinquency rates; and

WHEREAS, while the CRA should be modernized to account for online ...

Click here for full text