This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Blow up the CRA and start from scratch By    William Michael Cunningham June 22, 2022, 9:47 a.m. EDT 2 Min Read The Community Reinvestment Act was enacted in 1977 “to address inequities in access to credit for low- and moderate-income individuals and communities.” The law should be repealed and replaced. Like hanging a crystal chandelier in a lean-to shack, any efforts to revise the law are a waste of time. This especially includes efforts  proposed by the Federal Reserve Board “to strengthen the achievement of the core purpose of the statute, and to adapt to changes in the banking industry, including the expanded role of mobile and online banking.” Percentage of Home Loans Applications Approved, by race, at OneUnited, a Black-owned bank, in 2020 The increase in financial institution-induced harm, including environmental damage, demands a different, more honest and authentic approach in reviewing CRA’s inability to facilitate access to banking services and...

On July 16th , the Full committee of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on community and consumer advocates’ perspectives on the Obama administration’s financial regulatory reform proposals. Testifying were Joseph L. Flatley- Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, Oliver Ireland- Morrison & Foerster LLP, Edmund Mierzwinski-U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Janet Murguia, National Council of La Raza, Travis Plunkett-Consumer Federation of America, John Taylor- National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and Nancy Zirkin- Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. In his opening statement, Chairman Barney Frank replied to yesterday’s arguments on the “plain vanilla” mortgages. There were concerns that “plain vanilla” mortgage product would have the impact of reducing consumer choice and hurt financial innovations. He explained that the innovations are important. But, innovations should be in the context of regulations. He claimed that although excessive regula...