Compliance clinic: getting organized for community development

The most effective community development programs are run to make a profit, are supported by top management, and are based on a thorough assessment of the market and the bank's strengths and weaknesses. Community development can be organized several ways, including: 1) having a Community Reinvestment Act officer "broker" projects within the bank' 2) assigning loans to individual officers with related expertise; and 3) using a special lending group, an approach best for large banks such as American Security (Washington, DC).