The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted by Congress in 1977 to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of their communities.

The CRA requires that each insured depository institution's record in helping meet the credit needs of its entire community be evaluated periodically.

That record is taken into account in considering an institution's application for deposit facilities, including mergers and acquisitions. CRA examinations are conducted by the federal agencies that are responsible for supervising depository institutions:

Interagency information about the CRA is available from the External LinkFederal Financial Institutions Examination Council. This site includes resources, upcoming and past programs, workshops, articles and presentations on topics related to the CRA.