* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Bullock
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
The Community Reinvestment Act
For the purpose of supporting the Community Reinvestment Act, which encourages lending and investment in low-and moderate-income communities.
body
Recitals
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted in 1977, to end the practice of “redlining” by financial institutions - a technique financial institutions used to cut off low-and-moderate income communities and any communities with large minority populations, from financial services. Residents of “redlined” communities could not access credit services, such as mortgages and business loans, regardless of their qualifications or creditworthiness.
The CRA established a regulatory regime for monitoring the level of lending, investments, and services in low-and-moderate income communities traditionally underserved by lending institutions. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Board, assess and “grade” lending institutions’ activities in low-and-moderate income communities. If a financial institution is not serving low-and-moderate income communities, the regulatory agencies can delay or deny that institution’s request to merge with another lender, open another branch, or expand any of its services. The regulatory agencies can also approve a merger application subject to sp...
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