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Just News

for December 18, 2020

News and views from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Find more at ncrc.org. For continuous updates, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

News


Flawed FDIC Industrial Loan Charter Final Rule Will Undermine CRA, Allow Lenders To Evade State Consumer Protections
This week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a final rule on industrial banks and industrial loan companies (ILCs), allowing nonbank parent companies to apply for and receive ILC charters, enabling these lenders to make loans across the country with narrow and insufficient community reinvestment obligations. [Read More]

NCRC Urges CFPB To Move Forward With Critical Small Business Lending Transparency Effort
Section 1071 of Dodd-Frank required the CFPB to collect small business loan data to women-owned businesses and businesses owned by people of color. Ten years later, groups are still waiting for that requirement to be implemented. [Read More]

Bank Branch Closures Continue At Alarming Pace
There was a 5.13% loss of bank branches across the United States from 2017 through the third quarter of 2020, a new NCRC analysis found.  [Read More]
 

Views


Change Is On The Way, But It Won’t Be Easy
By Jesse Van Tol 
Yes, this is a moment to exhale and be hopeful: for policies that seek less racism, less hate, more love, and an economy that works for everyone. [Read More]

How The New Selena Series Is A Reminder Of The Need For Economic Justice
By  Sabrina Terry
Netflix’s new TV series, “Selena,” reacquaints fans with the pop sensation’s many hits, including “Bid Bidi Bom Bom” and “Como La Flor,” but it also revisits the family’s turbulent financial journey to stardom. [Read More]

Policy


CRA & Race: The Federal Reserve’s Proposal On The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
By Gerron S. Levi 
The board’s question invites a dialogue about whether and where the Federal Reserve’s framework might affirmatively consider race more explicitly. [Read More]

Research


Research Brief: Bank Branch Closure Update (2017-2020)
In this brief, NCRC Research explored the impact, as well as consequences, of the shifting in bank branch availability across the nation. [Read More]

NCRC Paycheck Protection Plan Preliminary Analysis
The analysis adds to the evidence that business owners of color and businesses in lower-income communities faced a multitude of obstacles that cut them off from the government’s COVID relief program for small businesses. [Read More]

 

Field Notes


Women’s Business Center Helps DC Small Business Thrive During Pandemic
By Heidi Sheppard and Sade McKoy
Nicole Mires is an acupuncturist who started her small business, Pekoe Acupuncture and Wellness Center, in 2009 at the height of the Great Recession. She has successfully run her business since, a remarkable feat considering only 50% of small businesses make it past 5 years. [Read More]

With COVID-19 Taking A New Toll, A Poor Black Community In Alabama Awaits Justice For A 2008 Industrial Disaster
By Rose Ramirez and Brad Blower
A dozen years after a gas and chemical leak ravaged their community, the residents of Eight Mile, Alabama, are still waiting for the federal government to take action against the companies responsible for it. [Read More]

Resources


Resources To Help Support The Black Lives Matter Movement
If you are interested in supporting Black Lives Matter, these resources may be helpful for you. [Read more]

NCRC COVID-19 Resource Page
We've compiled and are updating an index of COVID-19 resources for communities, small businesses, individuals and organizations that serve them, such as housing counseling agencies. [Read more]

In the News


The Foreclosure Crisis Waiting For Us In January
By Brittany Hutson, Shelterforce
When foreclosures are set in motion next year, there’s no doubt that they will hit vulnerable populations like the elderly and Black and Brown homeowners harder. The crisis will also have a real impact on small landlords, according to Ibijoke Akinbowale, director of the Housing Counseling Network at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, who says that the pathway for recovery for small landlords and renters is not as clear. [Read More]

US Lost 5% Of Bank Branches Between 2017 And 2020
By Kevin Wack, American Banker
The accelerating pace of branch closures is partly due to industry consolidation, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's new report. [Read More]

Housing Group Urges Court To Revoke CFPB Mortgage Reporting Rule
By Jody Godoy, Reuters
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition and other groups urged Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell to grant summary judgment in its lawsuit challenging Regulation C, a rule finalized in May that raises the threshold for reporting under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HDMA) and which they say would exempt more than a third of financial institutions that currently report data. [Read More]

Race, Justice, and the Pandemic
By Joshua Preiss, Pandemic Ethics
NCRC's Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Professor Joshua Preiss of the University of Minnesota discussed the racial wealth divide in the United States and the role historical injustice plays in determining vulnerability during the pandemic. [Read More]

Minority Groups Organizing in Dallas to Open Dialogue with Banks, Increase Lending
By David Schechter, Jason Trahan, Chance Horner, T. Nicole Waivers, WFAA
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition has successfully organized communities across the country and is now focusing on Dallas. It provides data, experience and guidance in how to take advantage of CRA and encourage banks to lend more money in underserved communities. [Read More]

On Our Radar


1 In 3 Workers Had Their Pay Cut During The Pandemic, And Women’s Salaries Are Taking Longer To Recover
By Jennifer Liu, CNBC
While men and women experienced pandemic pay cuts at nearly equal rates, men, 52%, were more likely than women, 44%, to say their pay has been restored. [Read More]

Five Ways We Can Help Small Businesses In 2021
By Bill Bynum and Jenny Flores, Washington Informer
This year was extremely challenging for small businesses, but it also brought about a season of innovation that could help more businesses survive the challenges of the coming year. [Read More]

'I Lost Everything': LGBTQ People Are Bearing A Bigger Brunt Of The Pandemic, Report Shows
By Susan Miller, USA Today
COVID-19 has crushed a lot of souls in its lethal stampede across the nation. But for members of the LGBTQ community, the pandemic has been particularly pernicious, exposing vulnerabilities that often bubble beneath the surface. [Read More]

Banks Play Catch-up As Customer Shift to Digital Accelerates
By Penny Crosman, American Banker
Bank executives made one thing perfectly clear to their peers at the Digital Banking Conference hosted by American Banker: You're dreaming if you think customers will go back to the old way of doing business once the pandemic subsides. [Read More]

     
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