As Congress Dithers for Payday Lenders, CRA Activists Raise Stakes in St. Louis and Philadelphia
By Matthew R. Lee
WASHINGTON, March 10 -- As legislators from both political parties dally on Capitol Hill, considering handing consumer protection to the Federal Reserve like Democratic Senator Chris Dodd or leaving enforcement over payday lenders off to the side like Republican Bob Corker, the real work of protecting consumers is done by grassroots groups.
Inner City Press learned on Wednesday of an all too rare Community Reinvestment Act challenge filed recent in Missouri, which has delayed the recalcitrant bank's application for regulatory approval for several months. The Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council, which filed the protest, says that CRA has been largely moribund in St. Louis for the last 20 to 30 years.
Now, in the face of the economic meltdown, it is back. On the sidelines of the NCRC conference, three EHOC staffers spoke of pouring over list of regulatory approvals, commenting on CRA performance evaluation, reaching out for allies to Kansas and Jefferson City. Meanwhile a former NCRC staffer is starting work at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Progress can be slow -- but it is still faster than Congress.
