Why the Community Reinvestment Act Cannot be Blamed for the Subprime Crisis

Abstract

It has become common practice—and in particular, but not exclusively, in conservative media—to blame the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 for the U.S. subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis that triggered the global financial crisis. It is argued that the CRA forced lenders to give mortgage loans to high–risk borrowers. This is nonsense for at least five reasons.