Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

From: George Allison [mailto:George.Allison@self-help.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 2:01 PM
To: comments@fdic.gov.
Cc: Peter Skillern
Subject: CRA

September 21, 2004

Dear Mr. Feldman:

I am a Board Member of the Community Reinvestment Corporation of North Carolina and I am strongly opposed to your proposal to significantly weaken the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). You propose much easier CRA requirements for banks between $250 million to $1 billion in assets. This proposal will result in much fewer home and small business loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers and much fewer community development loans and investments in low- and moderate-income communities. In addition, you propose that all FDIC-supervised banks can earn CRA points by financing community development projects that benefit affluent residents in rural areas, instead of low- and moderate-income consumers and communities in rural America. This is directly contrary to CRA’s focus on meeting credit needs of low- and moderate-income communities. In sum, your proposal to change the CRA regulation will result in much fewer loans, investments, and branches in low- and moderate-income communities. Please withdraw your harmful proposal.