Local Hearings for Responsible Banking Act

Local Hearings Begin to Kick Off Responsible Banking Act! First round of public hearings – one in each borough start next week! (Feb. 9 through Feb. 18, 2o15). Now is the time for the community to make its voice heard!

After a successful community-led campaign, then two years of delays and legal challenges, the Responsible Banking Act (RBA) is now in effect!  January 13th, was the first official meeting of the Community Investment Advisory Board (CIAB).  The CIAB is a board comprised of government, community, and bank representatives that is tasked with carrying out the RBA.  We applaud the mayor and speaker for assembling such a diverse, talented group that will engage all stakeholders in the process.

Over $150 billion of New York City’s money flows to and through local banks, which hold roughly $6 billion in deposits at any given time. The RBA lets the city use the power of that money to hold banks accountable to better meet the needs of our local communities.  This RBA gives us a powerful tool to hold banks accountable and reward the best local bank reinvestment practices.

The RBA will only work if we participate. The power of the RBA comes from us raising our voices through the public hearings that provide everyday New Yorkers a vehicle to engage in the process in a meaningful way. This is our chance to share our local credit needs and how the banks are responding to these needs. The first set of public hearings for the needs assessment will take place February 9-18 – one in each borough, starting in Brooklyn (all 6-8pm – arrive early to register to give testimony).

• Feb 9^th: Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn – 2^nd floor courtroom
• Feb 10^th: Staten Island Borough Hall, Room 125, 10 Richmond Terrace #2, Staten Island
• Feb 12^th: Bronx Borough Hall, 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx
• Feb 17^th: Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens
• Feb 18^th: Manhattan – Dept. of Health (DOHMH), 2nd fl. Auditorium, 125 Worth St, NY

This is to inform the biannual needs assessment by sharing our local credit and banking needs, which will help establish benchmarks, or goals, for banks to meet.  They will then be assessed against these needs and benchmarks in the annual report, which comes out in November (public hearing September 9th). 

What can you do?

• Organize!  Talk to your friends and neighbors about banks and community needs.  Join a community organization – ANHD members are perfect!  Attend local meetings!
• Show up!  There is strength in numbers: Get the word out and encourage other people to get involved
• Speak up!  Make comments at the public hearings (or in writing) about your community needs and how banks are responding.

Click HERE for ANHD’s RBA website

Click HERE for NYC’s RBA website

Community Investment Advisory Board members include the following representatives for:

1. Mayor: Peter Hatch
2. Commissioner of Finance: Jeffrey Shear
3. Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD): Tracey Gardner
4. Comptroller: Brian Cook
5. Speaker of the City Council: Tanisha Edwards
6. The City’s banking industry (appointed by the Mayor): Blondel Pinnock, Carver Bank
7. Community development, housing, and/or consumer protection organizations (appointed by the Speaker): Bernell Grier, NHS NYC
8. Small business owners (appointed by the Speaker): Chris Kui, AAFE

Bloggers:  Jaime Weisberg

Blog team: Benjamin Dulchin, Jonathan Furlong, Moses Gates, Emily Goldstein, Ericka Stallings, Jaime Weisberg, Barika X. Williams. Editor, Anne Troy.