Remarks by
Martin J. Gruenberg
Member, Board of Directors
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Community Reinvestment Act:
Its Origins, Evolution, and Future
Fordham University
Lincoln Center Campus
New York, New York
October 29, 2018
Martin J. Gruenberg
Member, Board of Directors
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Community Reinvestment Act:
Its Origins, Evolution, and Future
Fordham University
Lincoln Center Campus
New York, New York
October 29, 2018
1
Introduction
I would like to thank the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development,
Enterprise Community Partners, and the University Neighborhood Housing Program for inviting
me to speak this morning. I would particularly like to thank the International Political Economy
and Development Program of Fordham University for hosting today’s event.
The topic I would like to discuss today is the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
As I am sure most of you know, the Community Reinvestment Act was signed into law in
October 1977. CRA celebrated its fortieth anniversary a year ago this month. It seems an
appropriate moment to look back over the history of CRA, both its origin and evolution, and to
consider how that experience should inform consideration of changes to CRA for the future.
Let me say, on a personal note, that my professional career has intersected with CRA
from the outset. My first professional experience in Washington was in the summer of 1977
when I worked as an intern in the office of my local Congressman from the Bronx, a wonderful
man named Jonathan Bingham. One of my responsibilities that summer was to track the progress
of the proposed CRA legislation, which had great relevance for our Bronx Congressional district.
After I finished school I was able to persuade the Congressman to hire me as a legislative
assistant in Washington. One of my responsibilities was to spend a week each month in the
district working with community groups, financial institutions, and local government officials on
housing and economic development projects. It says something that one of the community
leaders I came to know then, Jim Buckley, is still at work in the Bronx and helped arrange my
participation in today’s program. As a result, I have had the opportunity to observe the impact of
CRA on community development from its earliest days.
Introduction
I would like to thank the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development,
Enterprise Community Partners, and the University Neighborhood Housing Program for inviting
me to speak this morning. I would particularly like to thank the International Political Economy
and Development Program of Fordham University for hosting today’s event.
The topic I would like to discuss today is the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
As I am sure most of you know, the Community Reinvestment Act was signed into law in
October 1977. CRA celebrated its fortieth anniversary a year ago this month. It seems an
appropriate moment to look back over the history of CRA, both its origin and evolution, and to
consider how that experience should inform consideration of changes to CRA for the future.
Let me say, on a personal note, that my professional career has intersected with CRA
from the outset. My first professional experience in Washington was in the summer of 1977
when I worked as an intern in the office of my local Congressman from the Bronx, a wonderful
man named Jonathan Bingham. One of my responsibilities that summer was to track the progress
of the proposed CRA legislation, which had great relevance for our Bronx Congressional district.
After I finished school I was able to persuade the Congressman to hire me as a legislative
assistant in Washington. One of my responsibilities was to spend a week each month in the
district working with community groups, financial institutions, and local government officials on
housing and economic development projects. It says something that one of the community
leaders I came to know then, Jim Buckley, is still at work in the Bronx and helped arrange my
participation in today’s program. As a result, I have had the opportunity to observe the impact of
CRA on community development from its earliest days.