January 14, 2015
Investing in North County Recipes
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Photo courtesy SLEHCRA
SLEHCRA members announce an agreement with Midland States Bank at a vacant lot in North St. Louis City on Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., in a community that is severely under-banked. SLEHCRA’s work, including the agreement with Midland States Bank, is focused on increasing the bank branches and bank services available in these communities.
Community coalition has encouraged banks to commit millions of dollars to region By Sara Hardin There is a group of people working to help more equally distribute financial aid within the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, and are currently leaps and bounds ahead in their mission in North County. St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA) is a coalition of non-profit and community organizations that works with banks to encourage them to invest more financial aid into low and moderate income areas. SLEHCRA does this by conducting analysis of banks’ Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) activities, writing public comment letters to be considered by federal regulators in CRA evaluations and applications, and engaging in dialogues with banks about their performance in providing services to all parts of the community. SLEHCRA has evaluated 42 banks operating in the St. Louis region since 2009, and has written 38 public comment letters. Elisabeth Risch, who serves as convener for SLEHCRA, explains in depth the alliance’s mission and the steps necessary to force banks to take action. “Our mission is to increase investment in low-income communities, regardless of race, and in minority communities, regardless of income,” explained Risch. “We do this by ensuring that banks are meeting their obligations under the Community Reinvestment
Act and fair lending laws. Banks have an obligation to serve lower income communities and communities of color under federal laws and regulations. The fair lending laws, including the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, ensure that banks are not discriminating in credit transactions, including mortgages, on the basis of race or the racial composition of the neighborhood.” The effects of the alliance’s influence has been significantly positive, and Risch says that the changes seen in lowincome communities has been especially influential. “The work of our coalition has contributed to a significant increase in the availability of financial services throughout the St. Louis area, but particularly in low-income neighborhoods and predominately minority areas,” said Risch. “Five new full-service bank branches have opened, including the First National Bank of St. Louis branch in Ferguson. Banks have committed millions of dollars in community development loans, provided grants and donations to non-profit organizations like NCCU, and developed new products that increase access for families previously under-served by mainstream financial services.” Dr. Rance Thomas serves as president for North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice (NCCU),
which is a member of SLEHCRA. Thomas is incredibly optimistic about the mission and the success that the alliance has seen thus far. “It has been very rewarding to be able to contribute to improving financial services for low and moderate income individuals within the St. Louis Metropolitan area,” said Thomas. “It is in accordance with NCCU’s mission and principle of ‘If God loves each person unconditionally, how can we not do the same?’ NCCU has been working since 1998 to promote understanding between the races and social justice.”
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“Big Eyes” photo courtesy of Silverwood Films
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