From: Martin Mellett [mailto:MMellett@liscnet.org]
Sent: Friday, September 17, 2004 11:41 AM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment -- RIN 3064-AC50
To Whom It May Concern,
I oppose the FDIC's proposal to allow banks with assets above $250
million to be examined as small banks under the Community Reinvestment
Act. I am concerned that this new policy would reduce lending,
investments and services in low-income communities. While I believe
there are some financial institutions who understand that there are
investment opportunitites in low income communitites and will remain
engaged regardless of CRA regulations, there are enough financial
institutions who will step away from that type of engagement without the
current CRA regulations. If this happened, the responsible financial
institutions may feel that the playing field is no longer level and may
begin to move in a similar direction. Therefore the most appropriate
regulatory strategy is to maintain the current set of regulations.
Sincerely,
Martin Mellett
Martin Mellett
Director - Community Development Support Collaborative
1825 K St NW Suite 1100
Washington DC 20006
(202)(296-4582) - phone
(202)(785-4331) - fax
mmellett@lisc.org - email
www.cdsc.org - web site
