Community Development
The federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted to ensure that everyone has access to credit and banking services. The CRA mandates that each federally-insured depository institution helps meet the credit needs of the communities in which it is located, specifically focusing on the needs of people with low and moderate incomes and their neighborhoods.
HSBC's Community Development Department is a dedicated unit in HSBC Bank USA that focuses on CRA performance, managing the resources that help put community reinvestment to work on a daily basis. Our goal is not merely to meet these requirements but exceed them, since providing these services is not only good business, it is also the right thing to do.
HSBC Bank USA meets our CRA responsibilities by making loans and equity investments to community-based organizations engaged in affordable housing development, economic development, and activities and services targeting low and moderate-income individuals and communities. We work with community development financial institutions, community development corporations, and national intermediaries on a wide range of activities that meet CRA requirements.
HSBC's community development officers are located in all major areas of the Bank's footprint, and work closely with community organizations within those areas to ensure responsiveness to community credit needs. The staff of the HSBC Community Development Department conducts outreach and provides technical assistance to community groups. Community Development officers also engage in a wide range of service activities, such as serving on organization boards and loan committees, providing educational seminars and sponsoring community events and activities.
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Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluation * - SEPTEMBER 25, 2006 [PDF file* - 709kb] This document is an evaluation of HSBC's record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of the institution. |
HSBC assists low-to-moderate income people achieving their goal of homeownership through our support of programs such as:
First Home Club
First Home Club is a savings plan for prospective first-time home buyers in New York and New Jersey whose income is less than 80% of the median income of the area in which they live. Qualified prospective buyers open an HSBC First Home Club Savings account, and HSBC provides a three-to-one match for every dollar deposited, up to $5,000. The money can only be used for a down payment and closing costs on a first home.
CommunityWorks®
CommunityWorks is HSBC's leading affordable homeownership program, offered in partnership with community-based housing organizations and not for-profit groups working to revitalize low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. The goal is to enable low-to-moderate income families to purchase, rehabilitate or refinance homes, and is not limited to first-time homebuyers.
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