The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) encourages lenders to make mortgage loans to certain classes of borrowers. However, the law does not apply to all lenders, and lenders do not necessarily receive credit for all loans made to borrowers of a particular class. We use this variation to test...

It is no accident that financial institutions in the Fourth Federal Reserve District are taking a more active role in financing the redevelopment of former industrial sites, known as brownfields. Increasing demand for vacant urban land, high suburban real estate costs, concerns about sprawl, and...

The intent of fair lending regulation is to encourage loans in low income areas and insure that loan decisions are based on economic criteria instead of noneconomic borrower characteristics. We evaluate situations in which banks may find it in their self interest to respond to regulation in a...