NAFCU defends CUs, hits bankers back with truth about CRA

Urging Congress not to listen to the misinformation being spread by bank lobbyists regarding the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger reiterated Friday why this law applies to banks and provided valid reasoning – already acknowledged by Congress and regulators – as to why it does not apply to credit unions.

Berger noted that the CRA was adopted as a punitive measure on banks due to discriminatory practices such as redlining and disinvestment. “Given the behaviors of many banks that led to the 2008 financial crisis, and even the recent scandals such as those at Wells Fargo, it is apparent that banks have not learned their lesson and that is why we believe that the CRA still has a role to play for banks today,” he wrote to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

Furthermore, Berger encouraged the lawmakers to take a second look at reinstating a modernized Glass-Steagall Act and regulators’ attempts to loosen Volcker rule requirements on big banks.

 

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