Federal Reserve

Agencies Issue 2023 Shared National Credit Program Report

Federal bank regulatory agencies today reported in the 2023 Shared National Credit (SNC) report that credit quality associated with large, syndicated bank loans remains moderate. However, the agencies noted declining credit quality trends due to the pressure of higher interest rates on leveraged borrowers and compressed operating margins in some industry sectors. Risks in leveraged…

Federal Reserve: New Paper Reexamines the Role of the CRA in Mortgage Supply and the U.S. Housing Boom

Abstract: Concerns have lingered since the 2007 subprime crisis that government housing policies promote risky mortgage lending. The first peer-reviewed evidence of a causal effect was published by the Review of Financial Studies in a paper (Saadi, 2020) linking the crisis to changes in the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1995. A review of that…

Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies Seek Comment on Interagency Effort to Reduce Regulatory Burden

The federal bank regulatory agencies today published their first of a series of requests for comment to reduce regulatory burden. The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 requires the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and federal bank regulatory agencies to review their regulations every 10 years to identify any outdated or otherwise…

ABA: Trade Associations Sue Regulators for Exceeding Statutory Authority in New Community Reinvestment Act Rules

Groups ask court to vacate new CRA rules and will seek preliminary injunction to block implementation until case is decided. The American Bankers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Independent Community Bankers of America, Texas Bankers Association, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, Amarillo Chamber of Commerce and Longview Chamber of Commerce today filed a lawsuit in the…

Federal Reseve: Bank Term Funding Program Will Cease Making New Loans on March 11th

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced that the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) will cease making new loans as scheduled on March 11. The program will continue to make loans until that time and is available as an additional source of liquidity for eligible institutions. During a period of stress last spring, the Bank…

Federal Reserve: Five New Members of Community Advisory Council Announced

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced five new members of its Community Advisory Council, or CAC. The CAC is composed of a diverse group of experts and representatives of consumer, workforce, and community development organizations and interests. CAC members provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Board on relevant policy matters and emerging issues…

Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies Release Webinar on New CRA Regulations

The federal bank regulatory agencies today jointly issued a pre-recorded webinar on the interagency final rule to strengthen and modernize regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).  The nearly one-hour video provides an overview of the new CRA rule issued on October 24, 2023, and its objectives.  Additional topics in the recording include assessment areas, community development, evaluation…

Federal Reserve: Designation of the Chairs and Deputy Chairs of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks for 2024 Announced

The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced the designation of the Chairs and Deputy Chairs of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks for 2024. Each Reserve Bank has a nine-member board of directors. The Board of Governors in Washington appoints three of these directors and each year designates one of its appointees as Chair and a…

Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies Release 2022 Small Business, Small Farm, and Community Development Lending Data

The federal bank regulatory agencies, as members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), today released data on small business, small farm, and community development lending during 2022. The Community Reinvestment Act regulations require the agencies to annually disclose these data. The FFIEC also prepared aggregate disclosure statements of small business and small farm…

Agencies Release Annual Asset–Size Thresholds Under Community Reinvestment Act Regulations

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today announced the 2024 updated asset–size thresholds used to define “small bank” and “intermediate small bank” under their current Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The CRA regulations establish the framework and criteria by which the relevant agencies assess a financial institution’s record of helping to…