Regulators’ primary tool to enforce compliance was their authority to reject non-CRA-compliant banks’ requests for new branches or mergers. During the subprime boom, large banks were more likely to want to expand, and thus had greater incentive to comply.
优秀的计量经济学研究还考察了次级效应，以说服读者主要效应确有其事。监管者强化执行的主要工具是拒绝不执行CRA的银行开设新分行或开展兼并活动的权力。在次贷繁荣期，大银行更可能渴望扩张，因此由更大的激励执行CRA。研究发现，大银行的CRA贷款事实上对CRA检查反应更大。