Earlier today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed significant reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), an anti-redlining banking policy with roots tracing back to the civil rights movement.

While the CRA has been catalytic, the racial wealth gap and access to capital divides persist, and the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance is supportive of the regulators’ latest efforts to modernize and strengthen the policy’s underlying framework.

We look forward to more closely analyzing the proposal but are encouraged by the direction and cohesive leadership demonstrated by the regulators. The CRA plays a critical role in fortifying the local economic development ecosystems upon which impact investors rely to pursue social, economic and environmental impacts in communities across the country. We encourage our peers to submit comments on their vision for the future of the CRA ahead of the August 5 deadline.