From: Colleen Storms [mailto:cstorms@direcway.com]
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 2:04 PM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment -- RIN 3064-AC50
To the FDIC Rulemaking Committee:
I am the Finance
Director of a local housing authority. We have been privileged
in the past
to finance some smaller projects that
could not be managed without CRA funds. The only obstacle we’ve
had to doing more of this type of work is that local banks have sometimes
been slow to offer this as an alternative; marketing has not been
prolific. Because many local banks in communities like ours would
fall under the proposed exemption, this would further eliminate our
ability to use CRA funds in our communities.
This program allows the financing of critical community facilities,
which are more difficult to accomplish in our smallest communities.
Our housing authority represents three counties, Pacific, Wahkiakum
and Cowlitz counties in Washington State. The outlying communities
are the hardest for us to serve without CRA funds. This exemption
would further punish small towns in Washington State.
Please reconsider
this action. It is time for local banks, the private sector, and
the
public sector in our communities to collaborate in
new ways to preserve the quality of life for our disadvantaged neighbors
in rural areas. It isn’t time to withdraw from these underserved
areas and focus our efforts only on our larger urban centers. Please
keep CRA alive in the small towns of America.
Sincerely,
Colleen G. Storms
Finance Director
Longview Housing Authority
Longview, WA
