FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday December 14, 2021
Contact: Doug Walker at 202-618-6430 or dwalker@bettermarkets.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Dennis Kelleher, Co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Better Markets, issued the following statement on today’s action by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to rescind its rule to rewrite the Community Reinvestment Act:
“We applaud the OCC for reviewing and considering public comment on its one-sided, grossly deficient, and fatally flawed attempt at a unilateral re-write of the CRA rule in 2020. That rule, in process, form and substance, failed to meet the mission or statutory mandate of the CRA. The decision to rescind its 2020 rule was well-considered and, fully grounded in the facts and law, as we made clear in our comment letter.
“Now the OCC, with the other banking regulators at the Fed and FDIC, need to do the hard work of collaboratively engaging with all the constituencies to develop a modern CRA that truly accomplishes the objectives of the CRA by, among other things, mandating the use of transparent, enforceable metrics. Only then will there be accountability for the financial industry, which, done right, will finally make a clear and meaningful impact on the lives of low-income communities and marginalized communities of color across the country.”
“It was encouraging to see the financial industry and advocates all urging the OCC to rescind the 2020 rule. The banking regulators must seize the opportunity presented by this common ground and move quickly to narrow any divergent views and jointly propose a rule that serves all Americans.”
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
