A guide for congregations interested in understanding their community investment options, with descriptions of financial and management aspects, as well as social benefits, of different investment options. Examples provided.

This alert examines two proposed changes to the regulation of the Community Reinvestment Act:  A regulation calling for the collection and disclosure of small business loan application and origination data for banks and savings and loans by census tract. Second, a proposal calling for the use of some objective measures as key indicators of a bank's responsiveness to credit and capital needs. Woodstock Institute found that on both these central changes, the revised proposal is a substantial retreat from earlier progress.

The most recently available home mortgage data for the Chicago region show that refinancing loans were not uniformly accessible to all residents.  As a result, many borrowers, particularly African-Americans, have not benefited from the refinancing boom of the 1990's.

Lending test under the proposed 1994 CRA rules show that some large Chicago area mortgage companies have poor lending records in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

Describes some of the key features of the proposed 1994 CRA regulation and the advantaages and disadvantages.

This study finds that a number of basic financial services are lacking in Pilsen.  Only two institutions offer checking accounts and only two provide ATM service.  In a community that is 88 percent Latino, only one institution distributes literature in Spanish.  The study also finds that a majority of residents use currency exchanges for their primary financial needs.

Describes the double bottom line of socially responsible investment policies which includes a favorable rate of return and an investment vehicle that meets certain socially responible criteria.  Contains interviews with staff of Shorebank and the Calvert Fund.