The Consumer Federation of America condemns the recent Texas lawsuit filed by banking industry groups, which seeks to vacate the new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules.

Sharon Cornelissen, CFA’s Director of Housing, reacts:

“It is disappointing to see the banking trade associations try to undermine the modernized CRA rule, which was the result of years of interagency collaboration, thousands of public comments and industry input, and a careful consideration of how banking and the challenges of underserved markets look different today than when CRA was passed in 1977.”

The Community Reinvestment Act remains an essential tool to make sure that people in lower-income and historically underserved communities across the United States have access to lending, ranging from a loan to start a small business to a mortgage to buy a home.

The CRA was done in an incredibly deliberate manner. It took a decade to get the regulators to consider changes. Critics have no reason to fault the process, as the regulators intentionally aimed to honor all of the expectations of the APA.

Moreover, the new rule is hardly one-sided. The small banks received significant concessions. Even though CRA was meant to address redlining, race is still not considered in exams.