[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 16 (Monday, April 24, 2000)]
[Pages 877-878]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Benefits of the Community Reinvestment Act

April 19, 2000

    Ensuring that all Americans have an opportunity to share in our 
Nation's economic prosperity has been at the core of my administration's 
domestic agenda. We have made progress, but there is much more that we 
can do to extend the benefits of the vibrant American economy, including 
our innovative financial markets, to all Americans.
    The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is central to that goal. Early 
in my administration, I asked the Federal banking regulators to revise 
the regulations implementing CRA to focus on the performance of banks 
and thrifts in serving the credit needs of their local communities. 
Since 1993, banks and thrifts have pledged to make over $1 trillion in 
home mortgage, small business, and community development loans for low 
and moderate income neighborhoods and borrowers. This report documents 
that since 1993 banks and thrifts have already made well over $600 
billion of such types of loans. Today, credit is more widely available 
than ever before for Americans who wish to borrow to buy a house or 
start a business. Our success in democratizing access to credit under 
this administration is an historic achievement, but we cannot rest.
    The financial modernization legislation that I signed into law last 
fall allows the integration of banking, insurance, and securities 
industries. In itself, this modernization should benefit consumers due 
to enhanced competition and innovative products and services. However, 
we also took a strong stand on protecting CRA, and we insisted on 
retaining CRA as a key pillar in the new banking system. We would not 
agree with

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those who attempted to weaken the CRA obligations of banks and thrifts 
in this process. Our determination resulted in the new requirement that 
a bank or thrift must have at least a satisfactory CRA rating each and 
every time it expands into these newly authorized lines of business. 
This is the first time CRA will be taken into consideration outside 
traditional bank merger and branch opening activities.
    We must remain watchful to ensure that, as we modernize our 
financial system, it works for all Americans. The Treasury Department's 
baseline report on CRA will serve as a useful guidepost in assessing how 
far we have come and what remains to be done. The report will also 
provide a benchmark against which to assess changes in access to credit 
and financial services as the industry continues to evolve in the years 
ahead.