August 28, 2018

OCC: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Community Reinvestment Act

OCC BULLETIN 2018-24

Description:

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Summary

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on its website inviting public comment on ways to transform or modernize the regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The ANPR solicits ideas on how to better achieve the statute’s original purpose, encourage increased lending and investment where it is needed most, and reduce the burden associated with reporting and evaluating CRA performance. The OCC has also submitted the ANPR for publication in the Federal Register, with a 75-day comment period from the date of publication.

Note for Community Banks

The ANPR invites comment on the regulatory framework that applies to all national banks and federal savings associations (banks) subject to the CRA, including community banks.

Highlights

The ANPR invites comments on ways to transform or modernize the CRA regulatory framework with a specific focus on

  • encouraging increased lending and services to people and in areas that need it most, including in low- and moderate-income areas.
  • clarifying and expanding the types of activities eligible for CRA consideration.
  • revisiting how assessment areas are delineated and used.
  • establishing metric-based thresholds for CRA ratings.
  • making bank CRA performance more transparent.
  • improving the timeliness of regulatory decisions related to CRA.
  • reducing the cost and burden related to evaluating performance under the CRA.

Further Information

Please contact Vonda Eanes, Director for CRA and Fair Lending Policy, at (202) 649-5470.

Related Link

This post was originally published here.