Political Quotes

“I rise today to offer a critique on the Community Reinvestment Act and to share with my fellow Senators some of the problems that are inherent with the existing Community Reinvestment Act; problems associated not with the intentions of those who participated in the debate on what was to be accomplished by the Community Reinvestment Act. I would like to present to my colleagues an analysis from the point of view of a minority bank and the difficulties a minority bank has in compliance with the existing Community Redevelopment Act, or the CRA, as it is known. I think it puts a rather interesting perspective on a situation where indeed the intention of the legislation is to get out and ensure that minorities are represented in services from financial institutions--mortgage services, all commercial lending services, automobile financing, and all other needs, and not just minority groups, but low-income groups within those minorities. But, first of all, it is interesting to reflect that, as we talk about banks and the financial institutions, savings and loans, and so forth, we think that is where all of the money is. But it is important to recognize that nonbank institutions are not regulated by the Community Reinvestment Act. And nonbank institutions now hold more than half of the financial assets held by all financial institutions in the United States.”