On August 28, 2018 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking comment on the best ways to modernize the regulatory framework implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The ANPR solicits comment on a number of questions related to
- increasing lending and services to people and in areas that need it most, including in LMI areas;
- clarifying and expanding the types of activities eligible for CRA consideration;
- revisiting how assessment areas are defined and used;
- establishing metric-based thresholds for CRA ratings;
- making bank CRA performance more transparent;
- improving the timeliness of regulatory decisions related to CRA; and
- reducing the cost and burden related to evaluating performance under the CRA.
The OCC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, agencies) issue regulations that implement the requirements of the CRA. Those regulations have not been significantly revised in over 20 years. While the OCC is taking the lead on the revision process, ultimately all of the agencies will be involved in issuing revised regulations.
Comments will be received by the OCC for 75 days following publication in the Federal Register, which is expected soon.
A copy of the OCC Bulletin 2018-24 is available at: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2018/bulletin-2018-24.html
A copy of the ANPR is available at: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2018/nr-occ-2018-87a.pdf