Our Policy Agenda

Fair Lending
Millions of Americans are struggling to pay their home
mortgages. We see the evidence of the mistakes in subprime
lending in the current scourge of foreclosures. Everyone is hurt:
Families lose their homes. Banks lose a significant portion of
their investment. Surrounding neighborhoods suffer a decline in
property values. The tax base of municipalities is threatened.
See our research on fair lending

Asset Building
CRA-NC supports efforts at building assets among low-income
households. We fight against the use of refund anticipation
loans. RALs strip wealth, often among households at the bottom
of the economic spectrum. See our research on RALs

Socially Responsible Investing
CRA-NC has developed a set of investment metrics for the
Community Investment Index Fund, a project of the F.B Heron
Foundation in conjunction with Innovest Strategic Value
Advisors.
The Community Investment Index is a positively screened
socially responsible investment fund. CRA-NC provides an
evaluation of financial institutions based on public data and
secondary sources to measure the extent of mortgage, small
business, and community development funding to low-income,
rural and minority communities in the United States.
CRA-NC owns stock in 53 financial institutions. Our shareholder
advocacy includes dialogue and resolutions to address the
negative business and social impacts of subprime lending, payday
lending, and refund anticipation loans.

Media
Check out our blog, BankTalk, which provides regular
commentary issues in housing policy, CRA, and consumer finance.

STUDENT LOANS
The cost of education continues to increase. Often, students
incur so much debt that it limits their career choices. In some
cases, it blocks them from the path of building savings and
buying a home. CRA-NC supports the application of CRA to
private student lending. Our comments to the Federal Reserve
are here. See our papers on how CRA impacts HBCUs and their
students.

Community Reinvestment Act
The Community Reinvestment Act compels financial
institutions to make capital available to borrowers
throughout the community. We engage in discussions with
banks and communities to realize the spirit of this law.

Paying More for the American Dream III
When the Community Reinvestment Act is in force,
consumers get fewer high cost loans from banks and thrifts.
When it is not in force, the frequency parallels those of
independent mortgage companies.

Manufactured Housing
CRA-NC believes that non-profits can capitalize on the
promise contained within the affordability of manufactured
housing. Our underlying strategic premise is that control
over the land where housing is sited confers residents with
control over their destiny.
We have established North Carolina's first non-profit owned
land-lease community in Burnsville, North Carolina. Our
partners include:

North Carolina Housing Coalition
CFED I'm Home
Rep. David Price
Center for Participatory Change

One in six households in North Carolina lives in manufactured
housing. This is a misunderstood housing type that deserves
re-examination as a viable path for homeownership. Systemic
change in financing, titling, tenure, and consumer protection
are needed to fully realize the sector's potential.
see our Research on manufactured housing

EITC
North Carolina passes a refundable earned income tax credit
for workers. Nonethelss,at least 15 percent and perhaps as
much as 25 percent of those eligible for the EITC fail to claim
it . This results in the loss of $135 million in relief for North
Carolina. Twenty percent of that money goes to pay for
health care. Ultimately, that amounts to an estimated $200
million in lost revenue for North Carolina businesses.