Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

From: LESTER, THOMAS WILLIAM [mailto:blester@berkeley.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2004 8:08 PM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment -- RIN 3064-AC50

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to express my concern about the proposed changes to the CRA regulations that would exempt banks with less than $1 billion in assets from being examined. This is a disasterous proposal. The CRA is probably the best example of government regulation of private industry in U.S. history. Banks are not precluded from making (sizable) profits, while community development organizations, fair lending watchdog groups, and affordable housing advocates are given the tools they need to engage in serious and fruitful negotiations with large companies. The CRA works, it isn't broken. Please don't try to "fix" it in this way.

Sincerely,

Bill Lester
PhD Student
University of California at Berkeley