Community Reinvestment Update Must Include Fintech, McHenry Says

Michael Nonaka is quoted in a Bloomberg Law article regarding Rep. Patrick McHenry's statements at a recent conference stressing that a proposal to modify how banks comply with investment requirements in local communities must take account of new technologies such as mobile banking. According to Nonaka, the Treasury's report, which included recommendations for updating the Community Reinvestment Act, embraced innovative approaches to CRA performance, including technology-based approaches. How regulators define CRA assessment areas and account for technology's impact on banking could drive a new wave of bank-fintech partnerships, he adds. If regulators do ultimately open up CRA assessment areas to the national level, a new metric could be based not on the bank's main office or branch, but on the location of its depositors, some of whom may be originated through banks’ fintech partners, Nonaka says.