Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.?The results of a congressionally?ordered study on the effectiveness of a law designed to ensure that federally?regulated banks do a better job in making mortgage loans available to low and moderate income families underscores and reaffirms the support the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has long attached to the program, the union president said today.

NTEU National President Colleen M. Kelley said the Treasury Department study of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) "proves what NTEU?represented employees at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) already know?the CRA encourages banks to make profitable loans to customers in markets that otherwise would be underserved."

Among the nearly 5,000 FDIC employees represented by NTEU, there are more than 100 who work enforcing CRA regulations, which most often impact the availability of mortgage loans in smaller and rural communities. A congressional proposal advanced last year by Sen. Phil Gramm (R?TX) put those jobs at risk, until a legislative compromise resulted in the Treasury study of the program's effectiveness.

Kelley said that "the first?hand experience of our members in FDIC tells us that CRA is, good for consumers and good for the financial services industry, helping bring the benefits of an expanding economy to all Americans." She added her hope that this report "will end efforts to curtail this vital program."