U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

2003 NEWS RELEASES, PRESS ADVISORIES AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS PROBES BARRIERS TO CREDIT, WEALTH ACCUMULATION FOR MINORITIES AND POOR

Speakers to Brief Commission on Community Reinvestment Challenges

Friday, July 18, 2003, 11:00 a.m.
Commission Headquarters
624 9th Street, N.W.
Room 540
Washington, DC 20425

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will examine issues of community development, including the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and its impact on low-income and minority communities. Enacted in 1977, the CRA requires financial institutions to provide equal treatment to all communities, including those characterized by low income and people of color.

At the briefing, to be held July 18, a panel of speakers will brief the Commission on the CRA, including pervasive problems with credit and capital access in underserved communities despite protections guaranteed by the CRA. Gregory D. Squires, Professor and Chairperson of the Sociology Department at George Washington University and Mark C. Yeung, Senior Banking Fellow at the Greenlining Institute will discuss unequal access to loans, predatory lending practices, and insurance redlining.

Commissioners also will consider the role of the Federal Reserve Bank under the Community Reinvestment Act in promoting corporate responsibility by lending institutions when reviewing applications for banking mergers and acquisitions. Sandra Braunstein, Senior Associate Director of the Consumer and Community Affairs Division of the Federal Reserve System and Wayne D. Angell, former Board Member of the Federal Reserve will also participate.

For more information about the July 18 briefing, please contact Danielle Lewis at 202/833-9771.

07/15/03