kootenai tribes and blackfeet nation. tribal members described the need to address persistent housing challenges and insufficient access to credit in their communities. while there is a range of housing experiences across indian country, many communities face an inadequate housing supply, substandard housing conditions, and limited access to credit for home purchases and improvements. research from the center for indian country development has found that native americans pay more for 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches home loans than white borrowers on average, and the gap widens for native american borrowers living on reservations. 1 in a community roundtable, tribal members of diverse ages and income levels shared their personal stories of struggling to find affordable housing and secure the financing they need. my conversations with bankers and community leaders raised hopeful avenues for addressing these challenges. in a roundtable with community banks, lenders described efforts to expand capital and financial services in indian country. banks are also building their capacity to leverage federal housing resources and navigate the complexities of trust land, but these efforts are time - consuming. these lenders see an opportunity to simplify the administrative complexity of federal housing programs on tribal lands. native cdfis may also offer innovative ways to address housing and other credit needs in indian country. 2 these culturally centered community institutions are finding new ways to support positive credit outcomes and loan performance, and to facilitate mortgage loans in indian country. the modernized cra regulation includes important updates that can benefit indian country by encouraging affordable housing and expanding access to credit, investment, and banking services in native land areas. i'm grateful for the work that the center for indian country development, our fellow regulatory agencies, and organizations serving indian country are doing to help communities understand the new provisions. the new rule reflects changes to the current cra framework intended to clarify and recognize community development activities in native communities. i'm hopeful about the new opportunities these updates open, and i'll highlight a few of those key changes today. one major change is that the updated rule newly defines " native land area " and eligible activities in those areas. in addition, under the new rule, certain investment and community development activities in these areas are given special consideration. this important update will recognize banks providing more banking services, community development financing, and volunteer work in native communities. another key change is that banks can now get credit for qualifying activities that take place outside of their assessment areas. what this means is that even banks whose assessment areas fall outside of native land areas can

cdfis and other community - based groups will also continue to play a vital role in these efforts by highlighting where banks should do more for low - and moderate - income communities. thank you again for the opportunity to discuss this landmark cra update with you. i look forward to working with you and learning from your experiences in the years to come as we apply this new framework in service of indian country. 1 helen banga, donn feir, matthew gregg, " the unequal costs of native american homeownership, " federal reserve bank of minneapolis, august 3, 2023. 2 caryn mohr, " unpacking the wisdom of native cdfis, " federal reserve bank of minneapolis, august 29, 2023. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches