Employees Help With The Community Reinvestment Act

Employees at Mellon Bank in Rockville, Maryland have a good handle on what the Community Reinvestment Act is all about. The bank and its employees get involved on a very personal level with the people in the community it serves.

For instance, during the past three years the bank has helped a local nonprofit equity theater raise money, and conducted a series of financial seminars for other community non-profit groups on fund- raising and the advantages of combining efforts to raise money.

On a more personal level, two employees worked with local school students who were learning disabled, giving career counseling. The Rockville Mellon Bank employees also delivered the Junior Achievement curriculum at a local high school.

As a help to customers who are turned down for credit cards or loans, Rockville's Mellon sponsored two >
In the lending area itself, officers are given detailed training in order to more carefully access the needs of the low to moderate income population in the area who want to borrow from the bank. All of the Community Reinvestment Act activities and training are widely and regularly communicated to employees of every level. Even the board of directors is kept current and receives training in CRA. It's not surprising that the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond gave top rating for Mellon's CRA score again last year.

Copyright © 1993 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 3, No. 12, 5/93