They suggest retaining assessment areas around a bank’s branches in order to retain the CRA’s focus on local low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, while adding areas where banks conduct significant activity without branches. Both bank and community organization commenters were open to having a larger area defined for the purposes of pursuing meaningful community development activities, particularly in cases where banks operate largely without branches.
Was discretion best in the conduct of monetary policy, or should some sort of rule be employed? The 1970s and early 1980s provided important real data and experience in the resolution of these questions.