Center for Responsible Lending virtual town hall focuses on COVID-19 and economic relief
The Center for Responsible Lending hosted a discussion panel to address the impact of COVID-19 on various financial sectors as it relates to Black Americans on Monday evening.
The virtual town hall, moderated by White House Correspondent and CNN Political Analyst April Ryan, focused primarily on the areas of small businesses, housing and student loans with a particular emphasis on minority and Black communities.
“We know that with the first roll-out of the CARES Act that banks and big financial institutions took care of their concierge clients… and so we have many in our community that were absolutely disappointed, who stood in line even got numbers waiting to be contacted only to find out that the money had dried and they were left without the funding,” Waters said.
To rectify this, Waters has proposed a $60 billion supplemental emergency legislation for the Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Community Development Financial Institution (CDFIs), Black banks, credit unions and community banks.
Executive Vice President of the Center for Responsible Lending Nikitra Bailey said that while relief now is important, a permanent change in the systems that influence disparities within minority communities is also paramount.