Knowledge Base

§__.28(a) Performance Weights for Large Retail Institutions

§__.28(a) – 3 Q: How do the Agencies weight performance under the lending, investment, and service test for large retail institutions? A3. A rating of “outstanding,” “high satisfactory,” “low satisfactory,” “needs to improve,” or “substantial noncompliance,” based on a judgment supported by facts and data, will be assigned under each performance test. Points will then be assigned to each…

§__.28(b) Performance Weight of Quantitative and Qualitative Criteria

§__.28(b) – 1 Q: How is performance under the quantitative and qualitative performance criteria weighted when examiners assign a CRA rating? A1. The lending, investment, and service tests each contain a number of performance criteria designed to measure whether an institution is effectively helping to meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods,…

§__28(c) Discriminatory or Other Illegal Credit Practices Definition

§__.28(c) – 1 Q: What is meant by “discriminatory or other illegal credit practices”? A1. An institution engages in discriminatory credit practices if it discourages or discriminates against credit applicants or borrowers on a prohibited basis, in violation, for example, of the Fair Housing Act or the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (as implemented by Regulation B). Examples…

§__.29(a) CRA Rating Effect on Bank Applications

§__.29(a) – 1 Q: What weight is given to an institution’s CRA performance examination in reviewing an application? A1. In reviewing applications in which CRA performance is a relevant factor, information from a CRA examination of the institution is a particularly important consideration. The examination is a detailed evaluation of the institution’s CRA performance by its supervisory…

§__.29(a) Effect of Future Commitments on a Bank Application

§__.29(a) – 2 Q: What consideration is given to an institution’s commitments for future action in reviewing an application by those Agencies that consider such commitments? A2. Commitments for future action are not viewed as part of the CRA record of performance. In general, institutions cannot use commitments made in the applications process to overcome a seriously…

§__.29(b) Effect of Interested Parties Comments on Bank Application

§__.29(b) – 1 Q: What consideration is given to comments from interested parties in reviewing an application? A1. Materials relating to CRA performance received during the application process can provide valuable information. Written comments, which may express either support for or opposition to the application, are made a part of the record in accordance with the Agencies’ procedures, and…

§__.29(b) Requirements to Enter Agreements with Private Parties

§__.29(b) – 2 Q: Is the institution required to enter into agreements with private parties? A2. No. Although communications between an institution and members of its community may provide a valuable method for the institution to assess how best to address the credit needs of the community, the CRA does not require an institution to enter into…

§__.41(a) Evaluation of Assessment Areas

§__.41(a) – 1 Q: How do the Agencies evaluate “assessment areas” under the CRA regulations? A1. The rule focuses on the distribution and level of an institution’s lending, investments, and services rather than on how and why an institution delineated its assessment area(s) in a particular manner. Therefore, the Agencies will not evaluate an institution’s delineation of…

§__.41(a) Institution Affiliate Impact on Assessment Areas

§__.41(a) – 2 Q: If an institution elects to have the Agencies consider affiliate lending, will this decision affect the institution’s assessment area(s)? A2. If an institution elects to have the lending activities of its affiliates considered in the evaluation of the institution’s lending, the geographies in which the affiliate lends do not affect the institution’s delineation…

§__.41(a) Selecting a Specific Racial or Ethnic Group in Place of Assessment Area

§__.41(a) – 3 Q: Can a financial institution identify a specific racial or ethnic group rather than a geographic area as its assessment area? A3. No, assessment areas must be based on geography. The only exception to the requirement to delineate an assessment area based on geography is that an institution, the business of which predominantly consists…