NLIHC Joins Sign-On Letters Opposing Significant Changes to Community Reinvestment Act Regulations
Nov 09, 2026
By Libby O’Neill, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst
NLIHC signed on to four organizational sign-on comment letters in response to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) proposed rule on the “Community Reinvestment Act” (CRA). The proposed rule, published August 12, would significantly scale back the requirements for banks to invest in the communities in which they operate, including investments in affordable housing and community development.
The CRA was enacted in 1977 to address the adverse effects of redlining and discriminatory lending practices. It requires banks to make loans and investments and provide services to borrowers and communities with low to moderate incomes. Examples of activities evaluated by CRA include equity investments in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties, grants to community-based nonprofit organizations, loans to first-time homebuyers, and loans to small businesses. Three federal entities are responsible for evaluating how well banks meet their CRA obligations: the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the OCC. The new rule was proposed by two of these entities—the FDIC and the OCC.
The comment letters NLIHC signed on to vary in focus and scope, but each letter raises concerns and opposition to proposed changes to bank “asset thresholds,” which determine banks’ CRA obligations based on their size in assets (by dollar amount). For example, banks with assets greater than $1.649 billion are subject to the highest CRA requirements; the proposed rule would make it so that only banks with assets over $10 billion are subject to the highest requirements. If this change takes place, several hundred banks around the country would have significantly lower CRA obligations, which would likely result in less investment in their communities. Other changes would result in decreased accountability and reduced access to financial services for low- and moderate-income communities.
The following is brief overview of each comment letter:
- NLIHC signed on to the ACTION Campaign’s comment letter as a member of ACTION’s Steering Committee. The ACTION Campaign is focused on reforming and expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), so the comment focuses on implications for this program. The proposed changes to the asset threshold mean that significantly fewer banks would be required to make equity investments (such as those to LIHTC properties) in their communities. This would lead to reduced “competition in the LIHTC equity market, leading to lower pricing on credits, and less housing produced.”
- The National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders’ (NAAHL) comment letter also addresses the proposed changes to the asset thresholds, including the impact on reduced investment in underserved communities. NAAHL also raises concerns with new requirements for organizations receiving grants under the CRA, which could force banks to provide fewer grants, “particularly to smaller organizations, including those serving rural and other under-resourced communities.” NAAHL urges the OCC and FDIC to maintain CRA’s focus on low- and moderate-income people and communities, as intended by statute.
- The Native CDFI Network’s (NCN) letter focuses on impacts of the proposed changes to Tribal Nations, Native communities, and Native Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). NCN opposes the proposed rule, citing several proposed changes, including the changes to bank asset thresholds that would lead to reduced investment in Indian Country. Their letter states that the proposed rule will “structurally and dramatically de-incentivize bank lending and investment in Tribal Nations and Native communities generally and Native CDFIs specifically,” reduce banks’ public accountability to Indian Country, and make it difficult to amend the CRA rule in the future to strengthen investments in Indian County.
- The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) comment letter is very comprehensive, including detailed comments about most aspects of the proposed rule. NCRC opposes the proposed rule, stating that it would “significantly scale back CRA coverage, drastically reduce regulatory expectations of CRA activity, and weaken the CRA’s mechanisms for holding banks accountable for serving the needs of the entire communities they operate in.”
The “Community Reinvestment Act” is a vital tool for addressing the impacts of systemic discrimination on people and communities, and NLIHC opposes changes that would weaken the implementation of this law. Access to financial services and affordable financing is essential for developing and preserving affordable housing, community development, and financial stability for people in underserved communities. The regulatory entities responsible for evaluating the CRA should maintain high standards for meaningfully investing in their communities.
Read the proposed rule.
Read the four sign-on letters below: