Wall Street May Have to Lend More in Poor Areas in New Rules (1)

Wall Street banks and regional lenders could see an increase in the $250 billion they have to spend annually to meet U.S. requirements for doing business in lower-income communities as regulators prepare to overhaul the Community Reinvestment Act.

The changes proposed Thursday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would boost demand for lending by big banks, the regulators say, but they also would get pre-approved lists of qualifying activities that could eliminate a lot of the guesswork that is currently required.

“The larger banks should welcome this, and it should allow them ...