US Authorities look to increase lending to low-income households

US Banking authorities are revising policies from the 1970s to combat redlining and increase lending to low-income households. A new proposal would expand the scope of the historic 1977 community reinvestment act to include increasingly common online and mobile banking services. Redlining is when an institution refuses a loan or insurance to someone because they live in an area deemed to be a poor financial risk. If the proposal is approved, regulators won't just consider the locations of branches to determine a bank's grade for its lending to low- and moderate-income neighbourhoods.