lael brainard : strengthening the community reinvestment act what are we learning? speech by ms lael brainard, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the & quot ; research symposium on the community reinvestment act & quot ;, hosted by the federal reserve bank of philadelphia, philadelphia, pennsylvania, 1 february 2019. * * * thank you all for participating in our research symposium on the community reinvestment act ( cra ). i am happy to have an opportunity to learn from your extensive experience and expertise. 1 at the federal reserve, we value the cra as a critical tool for providing support to low - and moderate income ( lmi ) families and their communities. and we are interested in strengthening the cra as it encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they are chartered to serve. today ’ s research forum is one part of an extensive outreach effort we are undertaking to gather the best ideas for improving implementation of the community reinvestment act. over the past four months alone, all 12 of our reserve banks have hosted roundtables in locations around the country, from san francisco to boston, and from rapid city to puerto rico. the purpose is to hear ideas on improving the cra regulations from the bankers and community groups that have a stake in the cra ’ s success. in addition, we held two roundtables at the federal reserve board earlier this week to gather perspectives from national organizations focused on policy topics, such as housing, small business lending, and consumer credit. 2 we have also consulted with our advisory councils to gather their thoughts on cra reform. we have asked our large and community bank advisory councils, the federal advisory council and the community depository institutions advisory council, about their experiences with the cra and suggestions for improvements. we have also sought community perspectives. at our most recent meeting with our community advisory council, we asked for their recommendations for reform. 3 even though we decided not to join the office of the comptroller of the currency in the publication of its august 2018 advance notice of proposed rulemaking concerning revisions to the cra regulations, we have been reviewing the approximately 1, 500 comment letters submitted by academics, banks and banking trade associations, community and consumer groups, and citizens. so what have we learned so far from the comment letters we have reviewed and the roundtables we have held? if there is one common thread, it is that support for the community

hosted by the federal reserve bank of kansas city. i appreciated the robust conversation among knowledgeable individuals whose work touches on the cra every day. sitting around a 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches table together provided an opportunity for me to hear community bankers reflect on what has worked well for their communities and what they see as challenges, and to provide thoughtful suggestions on what they think might work best going forward. it was also helpful to be exposed to some differences of views. the best approach to implementing the cra in today ’ s environment is a complex issue, so i value hearing a wide range of suggestions. in closing, i want to reiterate my own commitment to strengthening the cra, which is widely shared across the federal reserve system. we aim to promote more cra activity, not less. we think that simplifying and clarifying the regulations while strengthening local community engagement will help us accomplish that goal. thank you for your help in this process. 1 i am grateful to amanda roberts for assistance in preparing these remarks. these remarks represent my own views, which do not necessarily represent those of the federal reserve board or the federal open market committee. 2 a summary of the findings will be made public in the spring. 3 a summary of the response is available on our public website at www. federalreserve. gov / aboutthefed / files / cac - 20181005. pdf. 4 see lael brainard, “ community development in baltimore and a few observations on community reinvestment act modernization ” ( speech at the federal reserve bank of richmond baltimore community development gathering, april 17, 2018 ) ; and “ community investment in denver ” ( speech at the denver branch of the federal reserve bank of kansas city, october 15, 2018 ). 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches