From: Pat Rickon [mailto:patrickon@mindspring.com]
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 6:27 PM
To: Comments
Subject: CRA...please don't reduce banks required to participate

I wish to express my opposition to the proposal to significantly weaken the Community Reinvestment Act for banks between $250million and $1 billion in assets.
For the past two years we of the Caring Council (people of faith who study issues of poverty in San Diego) have been trying to help the poor have access to better financial services. As a rule the larger institutions adopt boiler plate CRA programs. The hope for creative solutions lies with the more flexible instutions, which are the smaller ones.

We already have seen the importance of the requirement to participate here in San Diego. We have been told by savings and loans and smaller banks already that they would like to participate in helping the community, but since they did not have to comply with the CRA they would not become involved in finding banking solutions to help the needs of poor and ethnic communities.

If those who are not involved now say they have no incentive, how is it helpful to take away those who have some need to invest? I am certain we will have even less interest in helping poor communities.

Sincerely,
Patricia Rickon
Hope International, Sudanese Project Coordinator