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Has the Community Reinvestment Act increased loan availability among small businesses operating in minority neighbourhoods?

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  • Timothy Bates

    (Wayne State University, USA)

  • Alicia Robb

    (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, USA)

Abstract

The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) established a bold agenda requiring financial institutions in the USA to serve the credit needs of low- and moderate-income areas, including traditionally excluded minority residential areas. Initially opposed by both bankers and the federal regulatory authorities responsible for enforcement, the CRA has been contentious for decades. This study explores CRA impacts by investigating whether small businesses located in minority neighbourhoods have the same degree of bank-loan access as equally creditworthy firms located in other environs. We analysed both the unmet credit needs of small firms and the outcomes of their loan applications. We found that equality in loan access has been attained in some respects, indicating the CRA has had positive effects on loan availability. Inequality nonetheless persists. Regarding unmet credit needs, firms are penalised if their owners are African American, Latino or Asian American. Since roughly half of owners in minority communities are minorities, our challenge was to disentangle the effects on loan access of small-business geographic location versus owner race. Causal factors underlying our findings were investigated. Did bank regulators take the initiative in lessening traditional discriminatory lending practices? Alternatively, were activist community groups responsible? While the agenda advocated by activist groups coincides closely with actual gains, the overlapping but differing stated objectives of regulators did not.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy Bates & Alicia Robb, 2015. "Has the Community Reinvestment Act increased loan availability among small businesses operating in minority neighbourhoods?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(9), pages 1702-1721, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:52:y:2015:i:9:p:1702-1721
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098014534903
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    Cited by:

    1. Tan, Eugene & Zeida, Teegawende H., 2024. "Consumer demand and credit supply as barriers to growth for Black-owned startups," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    2. Kim, Mee Jung & Lee, Kyung Min & Earle, John S., 2021. "Does the Community Reinvestment Act increase lending to small businesses in lower income neighborhoods?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    3. Amol M. Joshi & Todd M. Inouye & Jeffrey A. Robinson, 2018. "How does agency workforce diversity influence Federal R&D funding of minority and women technology entrepreneurs? An analysis of the SBIR and STTR programs, 2001–2011," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 499-519, March.
    4. Timothy Bates & William D. Bradford & William E. Jackson, 2018. "Are minority-owned businesses underserved by financial markets? Evidence from the private-equity industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 445-461, March.
    5. Kim, Mee Jung & Lee, Kyung Min & Earle, John S., 2021. "Does the Community Reinvestment Act Increase Small Business Lending in Lower Income Neighborhoods?," IZA Discussion Papers 14681, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Colleen Casey & Timothy Bates & Joseph Farhat, 2023. "Linkages between regional characteristics and small businesses viability," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 617-629, August.
    7. Prieger, James, 2023. "Local banking markets and barriers to entrepreneurship in minority and other areas: Does broadband availability help?," MPRA Paper 118102, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Prieger, James E., 2023. "Local banking markets and barriers to entrepreneurship in minority and other areas," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    9. Teresa Kroeger & Graham Wright, 2021. "Entrepreneurship and the Racial Wealth Gap: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Success or Failure on the Wealth Mobility of Black and White Families," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 183-195, September.
    10. Mee Jung Kim & Kyung Min Lee & J. David Brown & John S. Earle, 2021. "Black Entrepreneurs, Job Creation, and Financial Constraints," Working Papers 21-11, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    11. Kim, Mee Jung, 2023. "Impact of the Community Reinvestment Act on small business employment in lower income neighborhoods," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Timothy Bates & Joseph Farhat & Colleen Casey, 2022. "The Economic Development Potential of Minority-Owned Businesses," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 36(1), pages 43-56, February.
    13. Qingfang Wang & Wei Kang, 2023. "Small businesses and government assistance during COVID-19: Evidence from the paycheck protection program in the U.S," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(8), pages 2147-2165, November.
    14. Brett Barkley & Mark Schweitzer, 2023. "Credit Availability for Minority Business Owners in an Evolving Credit Environment," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(3), pages 230-242, August.
    15. Timothy Bates & Alicia Robb, 2016. "Impacts of Owner Race and Geographic Context on Access to Small-Business Financing," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 30(2), pages 159-170, May.

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