From: John Wiltse
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 4:42 PM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment -- RIN 3064-AC50
As a senior staff
member with Rural Opportunities, Inc., a regional nonprofit community
development
organization, I have been involved
with affordable housing development in rural areas of NY, NJ, PA,
OH, MI, IN and Puerto Rico for the past 13 years . I have seen the
positive impact of the Community Reinvestment Act on low income rural
communities all across our service area. From access to mortgage
and small business capital to financial institution support for critical
programs like home buyer counseling, IDA programs, financial literacy
and foreclosure prevention strategies, CRA has had a dramatic impact
in increasing resources for low income communities. CRA is a critical
component to our area’s affordable housing and community development
solutions. I oppose any increase to the threshold of what is considered
to be small bank. The proposed FDIC rule would exempt many of our
community’s critical partners from the effective and productive
requirements currently in place. I urge FDIC to withdraw its proposed
rule. Thank you for allowing me to comment on this critical issue.
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John Wiltse
Rural Opportunities, Inc.
Housing & Economic Development