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Assessing the necessity and efficiency of the community reinvestment act

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Avery
  • Raphael Bostic
  • Glenn Canner

Abstract

A number of researchers have recently questioned whether the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is still needed. In addition, economic analysis has explored the efficiency of many regulations, but not the CRA. This article seeks to address both issues to shed light on the necessity and efficiency of the CRA. On the basis of data from a survey on the performance and profitability of CRA‐related lending activities, we reach three main conclusions. First, consistent with the view that the CRA is needed, we find evidence that the majority of surveyed institutions engaged in some lending activities that they would not otherwise have done in the absence of the law. Second, in terms of efficiency, the results are mixed: The vast majority of institutions increased credit flows profitably, but a significant minority incurred costs, albeit small ones. Third, quantitative evidence suggests that marginal CRA‐related lending tended to be small.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Avery & Raphael Bostic & Glenn Canner, 2005. "Assessing the necessity and efficiency of the community reinvestment act," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 143-172.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:houspd:v:16:y:2005:i:1:p:143-172
    DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2005.9521537
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Hyojung & Bostic, Raphael W., 2020. "Bank adaptation to neighborhood change: Mortgage lending and the Community Reinvestment Act," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Panagiotis Avramidis & George Pennacchi & Konstantinos Serfes & Kejia Wu, 2022. "The Role of Regulation and Bank Competition in Small Firm Financing: Evidence from the Community Reinvestment Act," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 54(8), pages 2301-2340, December.
    3. Dwight Jaffee & John M. Quigley, 2012. "The Future of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises: The Role for Government in the U.S. Mortgage Market," NBER Chapters, in: Housing and the Financial Crisis, pages 361-417, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Robert B. Avery & Kenneth P. Brevoort, 2015. "The Subprime Crisis: Is Government Housing Policy to Blame?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 352-363, May.
    5. 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).
    6. Lei Ding & Leonard I. Nakamura, 2017. "“Don't Know What You Got Till It’s Gone” — The Effects of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) on Mortgage Lending in the Philadelphia Market," Working Papers 17-15, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    7. Kenneth P. Brevoort, 2022. "Does Giving CRA Credit for Loan Purchases Increase Mortgage Credit in Low-to-Moderate Income Communities?," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-047, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    8. Daniel Ringo, 2023. "Mortgage Lending, Default, and the Community Reinvestment Act," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(1), pages 77-102, February.
    9. Wainer, Allison & Zabel, Jeffrey, 2020. "Homeownership and wealth accumulation for low-income households," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    10. Bostic, Raphael W. & Gabriel, Stuart A., 2006. "Do the GSEs matter to low-income housing markets? An assessment of the effects of the GSE loan purchase goals on California housing outcomes," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 458-475, May.
    11. Bunting, W.C., 2020. "Does increased access to home mortgage money reduce local crime rates? Evidence from San Diego County," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Laura Blattner & Scott Nelson, 2021. "How Costly is Noise? Data and Disparities in Consumer Credit," Papers 2105.07554, arXiv.org.
    13. Olsen, Edgar O. & Zabel, Jeffrey E., 2015. "US Housing Policy," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 887-986, Elsevier.

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