Regulation, particularly in banking, is often meant to protect the consumer. The Community Reinvestment Act, codified in 1977, was intended to protect low-income depositors by encouraging banks to extend loans to such depositors. Unfortunately, there are some important unintended consequences of the act that actually harm, rather than protect, low-income individuals. Using panel data from the first quarter of 2000, this paper illustrates that the implementation of the 1977 act may actually

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... in the growth in pawnshop and check cashing outlets both of which are extremely expensive forms of intermediation for consumers.