The CRA Implications of Predatory Lending

Abstract

This article considers the Community Reinvestment Act's role in combating predatory lending. It provides an overview of the CRA, explains how CRA-covered lenders may enable predatory lending and explores the relationship between the CRA, federal subsidies and predatory lending. The article concludes that the CRA should be used to penalize lenders that engage in predatory lending and recommends that federal bank regulators use CRA to sanction behavior that could encourage further predatory lending.