Community Reinvestment

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a powerful law that requires banks to invest in the communities from which they take deposits. CRA has brought billions in home and small business lending to low- and moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods in Maryland. Unfortunately, CRA has had minimal impact in Baltimore City. This has left the city bereft of the support it needs to disrupt the legacy of redlining that CRA was enacted to change. Click below to learn more about how MCRC is working to harness CRA to make a better Baltimore.

More about CRA and Reinvest Baltimore

Reinvest Baltimore, a MCRC initiative, is a coalition of neighborhood-based organizations, community development groups, housing organizations, and economic and racial justice nonprofits working together to advocate for the reinvestment capital Baltimore deserves. Click below to learn more about CRA and Reinvest Baltimore.

What about the banks?

PPP Lending In Baltimore City

The COVID-19 public health crisis has devastated both the economic and physical health of Americans and Baltimore is no exception. MCRC’s new report analyzes where the top ten Baltimore City banks distributed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, looking at zip codes and business-type, as well as the amount of dollars allocated. While communities across the nation have experienced the burdens of this crisis, the impacts have especially devastated low-income communities of color that have experienced disinvestment for decades.

cra advocacy opportunities

We work to advance reinvestment in Baltimore and take actions to make CRA a stronger law. As a community member or as a member of the Reinvest Baltimore Coalition, we invite everyone to engage in their communities to make investment in Baltimore, and across the country, more equitable. Click below to learn about opportunities to engage in advocacy work, CRA trainings, and community reinvestment leadership.