The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a federal law encouraging financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities they serve, with a focus on low- and moderate-income residents and inner-city neighborhoods.
Redlining is an illegal practice of refusing to originate mortgage loans in certain neighborhoods on the basis of race or ethnic composition. The term derives from the alleged practice of drawing a red line on a map around certain neighborhoods to designate them as off limits for loan approvals.
