CRA

Community Reinvestment Act. The CRA was passed in 1977. Among other things, the CRA seeks to encourage financial institutions to meet the credit needs of its local communities, including residents of low-and moderate-income neighborhoods. The CRA requires that each depository institution’s record in helping meet the credit needs of its entire community be evaluated by the appropriate federal financial supervisory agency periodically. A bank’s CRA performance record is taken into account in considering an institution’s application for deposit facilities.