The Bottom Line
Howard Headlee, President, Utah Bankers Association
"Why are bank regulators destroying the Community Reinvestment Act? The unintended consequences remind me of one of my favorite quotes from Star Wars, in which my teenage crush, Princess Leia, schools Grand Moff Tarkin: 'The more you tighten your grip…the more star systems will slip through your fingers.'
Speaking of 1977, CRA was adopted that same year on the slimmest of margins. The law was repeatedly scaled back in order to win passage. In the end, it was written as a directive to regulators to 'encourage' financial institutions 'to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered.' In large part, the law has been very effective in encouraging banks across the country to engage in community good. From most outward measures, the implementation of the law has been a success!"