New Association of Community Development Banking Professionals Formed in St. Louis

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July 9, 2012 (St. Louis) – A new non-profit association of community development banking professionals, the Metropolitan Saint Louis CRA Association, has announced its formation.  The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted in 1977 to encourage banks and savings associations to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities. The purpose of this new association is to establish a consortium of area banks working together to support, promote and facilitate efforts that identify and meet the credit needs of our community, as well as to provide professional development for our member CRA and community development professionals.

Membership in the Association is open to any bank or savings association which:

• Has an assessment area within the St. Louis MSA, which includes the City of St. Louis, the counties of Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair in Illinois and Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, Warren and Washington in Missouri;
• Is supportive of CRA; and
• Is required by federal regulators to adhere to the Community Reinvestment Act.

The founding Officers of the Metropolitan Saint Louis CRA Association are Chairperson, David Noble of Midwest BankCentre; Vice Chairperson, Loura Gilbert of Commerce Bank; Treasurer Jennifer Thoma of First National Bank of St. Louis; and Secretary, Suzanne Hough of Carrollton Bank. The Association’s Board of Directors includes its Officers and Jim Carlson of First County Bank and First Collinsville Bank; Robyn Heidger of Enterprise Bank & Trust; Cynthia Jordan of Regions Bank; Veronica Morrow-Reel of Citizens National Bank; and Tony Wade of First Bank.  The next meeting of the Association is scheduled for Thursday, July 12, 2012 from 9:00am – 10:30am at Harris Stowe University’s Library, 3026 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103.