By the Aspen Institute Rural Economic Policy Program. This newsletter originated over four years ago on HandsNet where it reaches about 500 organizations, and we've recently been joined by 630 more folks in cities, schools and towns around the world. This issue will be our only August release thanks to vacations and staff retreats. As many of you know, the Community Reinvestment Act applies to banks in rural areas as well as urban, requiring banks to lend for low income housing, small businesses and farms.
Consumer advocates can delay or scuttle bank mergers between banks that fail to meet guidelines.
A community reinvestment group in NC is challenging the merger of two banks in that state on claims that one of the banks failed to move forward on loans to small farmers. Their claim has successfully passed several hurdles and has been filed at the US 4th Circuit. ACRE was recently in the press, publicizing a recent study by the Rural Development Commission which showed that a third of villages lack daily bus service and 83 percent lacked a permanent doctor. This lack of services is particularly hard on the elderly. The oil wealth that has provided rural Alaska with its modern schools and health care facilities may be drying up.