As a community-engaged bank, the SF Fed seeks out real-time information on economic conditions by engaging with and learning from businesses, community organizations, and local leaders. These conversations are one of the many inputs into the decisions and policymaking at the Federal Reserve as we pursue our mission.
In this snapshot, Leilani Barnett, Senior Outreach Manager, highlights the SF Fed’s efforts to maximize the CRA’s potential to advance community economic development.
To grow their economies and expand opportunity, low-income communities need access to capital and safe and sound financial services. To encourage banks to make capital available and provide needed services, Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1977.
As part of our commitment to community development, the SF Fed works with both banks and community stakeholders to realize the CRA’s potential through training, roundtable convenings, and collaboration with community investment partners.
As a recent example of these efforts, we partnered with the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on a CRA seminar for community development organizations in the Stockton, CA area. We focused on helping these organizations develop CRA partnerships with banks, offering effective partnership strategies and time to network with local lenders. The Stockton event followed a similar event in Fresno, held in late summer by the FDIC and the SF Fed.
My community development colleagues and I will continue to host such events across the District through the rest of 2024 and into next year. To learn about these and other ways the SF Fed supports the economic development of all communities, subscribe to our community development newsletter.
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The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the management of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.