The federal banking and thrift regulatory agencies have announced a final Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule to implement a provision of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The provision requires the agencies to consider low-cost higher education loans to low-income borrowers as a positive factor when assessing a financial institution's record of meeting community credit needs under the CRA.
The rule also incorporates a CRA statutory provision that allows the agencies to consider a financial institution's capital investment, loan participation, and other ventures with minority-owned financial institutions, women-owned institutions and low-income credit unions as factors in assessing the institution's CRA record.
See press release for full details.