The Community Reinvestment Act was enacted in 1977 to give disadvantaged communities access to capital and banking services they couldn't otherwise reach — to help stem the tide of urban decay. Many consider it a success. Yet banks often saw it, and continue to see it, as a regulatory requirement to serve unattractive markets at higher cost and risk — making them less competitive, less profitable, and pulling resources away from the traditional, more familiar markets they consider more promising.

A lot has changed since 1977. The problem of the un- and underbanked hasn't. Demand for capital to support underdeveloped communities — consumer and enterprise alike — remains large and unmet. What has shifted are the fundamentals: demographics, behaviors, banking needs, and the options available to people. In short, deep market and economic change — to which many banks have been slow to adapt, and to which some have succumbed. The new wave of competitors has not.

Banks seeking growth, new ways to compete, and better performance have basically two options:

• Increase the value of the markets they already serve.
• Identify and serve new markets.

There's real opportunity for innovation in both. But many banks focus on the first and give little thought to the second — the bird-in-hand approach. Whether that's the right call depends on a lot of factors. A few worth considering:

• A market's viability — or its perceived value — is easily distorted by cultural misperception, by economic and regulatory factors, and by the misapplication or unavailability of suitable data.
• A bank's own strategies, operations, and practices often further camouflage markets that are, in fact, attractive and viable.

Emerging domestic markets — including CRA markets — suffer from all of the above. And that is precisely what makes them a significant competitive opportunity for forward-thinking institutions willing to take a fresh look at how they assess and serve them.

CRA programs are a natural place to start. RevelFT has built the methods and the platform — Stance — to put it to work. We're looking for the banking partners to demonstrate the impact it can have on their growth, competitiveness, and financial and operating performance.