Identifying and Documenting CRA Community Development Activities in 2027

Your institution may be making a meaningful difference in its community—but are you identifying, documenting, and presenting those activities in a way that supports your Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance?

Community development activities can play an important role in a bank’s CRA evaluation, yet determining which activities qualify for consideration and demonstrating their impact can be challenging. An eligible loan, investment, or community service may be overlooked when documentation is incomplete, eligibility requirements are misunderstood, or the activity is not effectively communicated to examiners.

This live webinar provides practical guidance for identifying, evaluating, tracking, and documenting community development activities under the applicable CRA regulatory framework. Explore qualifying loans, investments, and services; understand how assessment areas and community needs factor into the analysis; and learn how activities involving affordable housing, economic development, community services, and neighborhood revitalization may support CRA performance.

You will also examine common documentation gaps, the importance of coordinating with departments across your institution, and strategies for building a consistent process to capture qualifying activities throughout the year—not just when an examination approaches.

Whether your institution is working to strengthen an existing CRA program or establish a more effective community development tracking process, this session will help you recognize opportunities, improve supporting documentation, and present your institution’s community development efforts more effectively.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Understand the Role of Community Development: Explore how community development activities contribute to CRA performance and how their significance varies by bank type and applicable evaluation method.
• Identify Qualifying Activities: Examine the requirements for community development loans, investments, and services and learn to recognize opportunities that may qualify for consideration.
• Evaluate Community Development Eligibility: Understand how activities supporting affordable housing, community services for low- or moderate-income individuals, economic development, and neighborhood revitalization may receive CRA consideration.
• Navigate Assessment Area Considerations: Explore how the location of community development activities, including activities outside an institution’s assessment area, may affect eligibility and consideration.
• Strengthen Documentation Practices: Identify the records, supporting information, and internal processes needed to substantiate activities and demonstrate how they meet applicable requirements.
• Avoid Common Documentation Gaps: Recognize why potentially qualifying activities may be overlooked and develop strategies to improve identification, tracking, and presentation.
• Build a Consistent Tracking Process: Learn practical ways to coordinate with lending, marketing, community relations, and other departments to capture community development activities throughout the year.
• Prepare for CRA Examinations: Organize and present community development information in a clear, consistent manner that helps examiners evaluate the institution’s activities.
• Monitor Regulatory Developments: Understand the importance of keeping community development eligibility criteria and documentation practices aligned with the CRA framework applicable to your institution.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This webinar is designed for CRA officers, compliance officers, community development personnel, lending managers, loan officers, marketing staff, and internal auditors. It is also valuable for bank management and employees involved in community outreach, affordable housing initiatives, small-business development, community investments, or the collection and reporting of CRA-related information.