The three major U.S. banking regulators said Thursday they a plan to rewrite much of the outdated regulations tied to a decades-old banking law designed to encourage lending to the poor and racial minorities in the areas where banks have branches.
Critics of bank consolidation often say mergers harm consumers by limiting competition and reducing local lending. But smaller local banks involved in two recent deals say the moves are necessary for them and their customers to thrive.
Two years after the start of the pandemic drove more customers to adopt digital banking when branch lobbies closed, a recent study found that Boston has one of the highest increases in branch closings among U.S. metropolitan areas.
After holding the job as acting director since June, Sandra L. Thompson has been nominated to become the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s permanent director.
As part of its acquisition of People’s United Bank, Buffalo-based M&T Bank has created a five-year community growth plan that will provide $43 billion in loans, investments and other financial support to communities within its footprint.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed new small business lending rules that the agency said would help small businesses gain access to credit and increase transparency in the lending marketplace.
The yearslong effort to update the Community Reinvestment Act will continue, this time with the three federal banking regulators working together, a move supported by both banks and community organizations.
Income and home price gains were concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods in booming U.S. cities including Boston during a portion of the past decade, according to a study of wealth concentration and gentrification patterns.
As banks have sought opportunities to satisfy Community Reinvestment Act requirements by lending in low- and moderate-income communities, affordable housing organizations have found willing partners for their projects.
