The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the Agencies) are proposing to clarify their Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment to address several community development issues. The Questions and Answers were first published under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) in 1996, and were last revised on March 11, 2010. The Agencies propose to: Revise five questions and answers, […]
Tag: CRA
NEW CRA ASSET-SIZE THRESHOLDS
On December 19 the Federal Reserve Board published the new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) asset-size threshold adjustments for small and intermediate small institutions. The adjustments are based on the change in the average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers, not seasonally adjusted, for each 12-month period ending in November, with rounding to the nearest million. As a result of the 2.23 percent increase in the CPI index for […]
BLURRED LINES BETWEEN CRA AND FAIR LENDING
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, with it’s beefed up staff and budget, is actively pursuing fair lending issues. Several recent cases are blurring the lines between the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts. The purpose of CRA is to encourage banks to meet the credit needs of their local communities. The level of encouragement has increased significantly over the years. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has […]
WHAT’S UP WITH CRA
It has been years since the federal financial institution regulatory agencies have overhauled the Community Reinvestment Act regulations, but they are working on a total revision right now. And they are constantly tinkering with the rules. The agencies use the CRA regulations to advance social policy. The changes impact how your rating is determined and what activities receive community development credit. Recent Revisions Bankers should view CRA ratings as a game. They need to learn […]
CRA – UPDATED THRESHOLDS FOR SMALL AND INTERMEDIATE-SMALL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
On December 21st the federal bank regulatory agencies announced the annual adjustment to the asset-size thresholds used to define small bank, small savings association, intermediate small bank and intermediate small savings association under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The annual adjustments are required by the CRA rules. The annual adjustments are based on the change in the average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers, not seasonally adjusted, […]