1204 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 6 / Thursday, January 9, 2020 / Proposed Rules
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
12 CFR Parts 25 and 195
[Docket ID OCC–2018–0008]
RIN 1557–AE34
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Part 345
RIN 3064–AF22
Community Reinvestment Act
Regulations
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury and Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation.
ACTION: Joint notice of proposed
rulemaking; request for comment.
SUMMARY: Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency (OCC) and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
propose regulations that could
encourage banks to provide billions
more each year in Community
Reinvestment Act-qualified lending,
investment, and services by
modernizing the Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to
better achieve the law’s underlying
statutory purpose of encouraging banks
to serve their communities by making
the regulatory framework more
objective, transparent, consistent, and
easy to understand. To accomplish these
goals, this proposed rule would
strengthen the CRA regulations by
clarifying which activities qualify for
CRA credit, updating where activities
count for CRA credit, creating a more
transparent and objective method for
measuring CRA performance, and
providing for more transparent,
consistent, and timely CRA-related data
collection, recordkeeping, and
reporting.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before March 9, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
directed to:
OCC: Commenters are encouraged to
submit comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal or email, if possible.
Please use the title ‘‘Community
Reinvestment Act Regulations’’ to
facilitate the organization and
distribution of the comments. You may
submit comments by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal—
Regulations.gov Classic or
Regulations.gov Beta:
Regulations.gov Classic: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov/. Enter ‘‘Docket ID
OCC–2018–0008’’ in the Search Box and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Click on ‘‘Comment
Now’’ to submit public comments. For
help with submitting effective
comments please click on ‘‘View
Commenter’s Checklist.’’ Click on the
‘‘Help’’ tab on the Regulations.gov home
page to get information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions
for submitting public comments.
Regulations.gov Beta: Go to https://
beta.regulations.gov/ or click ‘‘Visit
New Regulations.gov Site’’ from the
Regulations.gov Classic homepage.
Enter ‘‘Docket ID OCC–2018–0008’’ in
the Search Box and click ‘‘Search.’’
Public comments can be submitted via
the ‘‘Comment’’ box below the
displayed document information or by
clicking on the document title and then
clicking the ‘‘Comment’’ box on the top-
left side of the screen. For help with
submitting effective comments please
click on ‘‘Commenter’s Checklist.’’ For
assistance with the Regulations.gov Beta
site, please call (877) 378–5457 (toll
free) or (703) 454–9859 Monday–Friday,
9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET or email regulations@
erulemakinghelpdesk.com.
• Email: cra.reg@occ.treas.gov.
• Mail: Chief Counsel’s Office,
Attention: Comment Processing, Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400
7th Street SW, Suite 3E–218,
Washington, DC 20219.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th
Street SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington,
DC 20219.
• Fax: (571) 465–4326.
Instructions: You must include
‘‘OCC’’ as the agency name and ‘‘Docket
ID OCC–2018–0008’’ in your comment.
In general, the OCC will enter all
comments received into the docket and
publish the comments on the
Regulations.gov website without
change, including any business or
personal information provided such as
name and address information, email
addresses, or phone numbers.
Comments received, including
attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record
and subject to public disclosure. Do not
include any information in your
comment or supporting materials that
you consider confidential or
inappropriate for public disclosure.
You may review comments and other
related materials that pertain to this
rulemaking action by any of the
following methods:
• Viewing Comments Electronically—
Regulations.gov Classic or
Regulations.gov Beta:
Regulations.gov Classic: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov/. Enter ‘‘Docket ID
OCC–2018–0008’’ in the Search box and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Click on ‘‘Open Docket
Folder’’ on the right side of the screen.
Comments and supporting materials can
be viewed and filtered by clicking on
‘‘View all documents and comments in
this docket’’ and then using the filtering
tools on the left side of the screen. Click
on the ‘‘Help’’ tab on the
Regulations.gov home page to get
information on using Regulations.gov.
The docket may be viewed after the
close of the comment period in the same
manner as during the comment period.
Regulations.gov Beta: Go to https://
beta.regulations.gov/ or click ‘‘Visit
New Regulations.gov Site’’ from the
Regulations.gov Classic homepage.
Enter ‘‘Docket ID OCC–2018–0008’’ in
the Search Box and click ‘‘Search.’’
Click on the ‘‘Comments’’ tab.
Comments can be viewed and filtered
by clicking on the ‘‘Sort By’’ drop-down
on the right side of the screen or the
‘‘Refine Results’’ options on the left side
of the screen. Supporting materials can
be viewed by clicking on the
‘‘Documents’’ tab and filtered by
clicking on the ‘‘Sort By’’ drop-down on
the right side of the screen or the
‘‘Refine Results’’ options on the left side
of the screen.’’ For assistance with the
Regulations.gov Beta site, please call
(877) 378–5457 (toll free) or (703) 454–
9859 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET
or email regulations@
erulemakinghelpdesk.com. The docket
may be viewed after the close of the
comment period in the same manner as
during the comment period.
• Viewing Comments Personally: You
may personally inspect comments at the
OCC, 400 7th Street SW, Washington,
DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC
requires that visitors make an
appointment to inspect comments. You
may do so by calling (202) 649–6700 or,
for persons who are deaf or hearing
impaired, TTY, (202) 649–5597. Upon
arrival, visitors will be required to
present valid government-issued photo
identification and submit to security
screening in order to inspect comments.
FDIC: You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 3064–AF22, by any of
the following methods:
• Agency Website: http://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/
propose.html. Follow instructions for
submitting comments on the Agency
website.
• Email: Comments@fdic.gov. Include
the RIN 3064–AF22 on the subject line
of the message.
• Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive
Secretary, Attention: Comments, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with PROPOSALS2
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
12 CFR Parts 25 and 195
[Docket ID OCC–2018–0008]
RIN 1557–AE34
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Part 345
RIN 3064–AF22
Community Reinvestment Act
Regulations
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury and Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation.
ACTION: Joint notice of proposed
rulemaking; request for comment.
SUMMARY: Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency (OCC) and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
propose regulations that could
encourage banks to provide billions
more each year in Community
Reinvestment Act-qualified lending,
investment, and services by
modernizing the Community
Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to
better achieve the law’s underlying
statutory purpose of encouraging banks
to serve their communities by making
the regulatory framework more
objective, transparent, consistent, and
easy to understand. To accomplish these
goals, this proposed rule would
strengthen the CRA regulations by
clarifying which activities qualify for
CRA credit, updating where activities
count for CRA credit, creating a more
transparent and objective method for
measuring CRA performance, and
providing for more transparent,
consistent, and timely CRA-related data
collection, recordkeeping, and
reporting.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before March 9, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
directed to:
OCC: Commenters are encouraged to
submit comments through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal or email, if possible.
Please use the title ‘‘Community
Reinvestment Act Regulations’’ to
facilitate the organization and
distribution of the comments. You may
submit comments by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal—
Regulations.gov Classic or
Regulations.gov Beta:
Regulations.gov Classic: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov/. Enter ‘‘Docket ID
OCC–2018–0008’’ in the Search Box and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Click on ‘‘Comment
Now’’ to submit public comments. For
help with submitting effective
comments please click on ‘‘View
Commenter’s Checklist.’’ Click on the
‘‘Help’’ tab on the Regulations.gov home
page to get information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions
for submitting public comments.
Regulations.gov Beta: Go to https://
beta.regulations.gov/ or click ‘‘Visit
New Regulations.gov Site’’ from the
Regulations.gov Classic homepage.
Enter ‘‘Docket ID OCC–2018–0008’’ in
the Search Box and click ‘‘Search.’’
Public comments can be submitted via
the ‘‘Comment’’ box below the
displayed document information or by
clicking on the document title and then
clicking the ‘‘Comment’’ box on the top-
left side of the screen. For help with
submitting effective comments please
click on ‘‘Commenter’s Checklist.’’ For
assistance with the Regulations.gov Beta
site, please call (877) 378–5457 (toll
free) or (703) 454–9859 Monday–Friday,
9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET or email regulations@
erulemakinghelpdesk.com.
• Email: cra.reg@occ.treas.gov.
• Mail: Chief Counsel’s Office,
Attention: Comment Processing, Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400
7th Street SW, Suite 3E–218,
Washington, DC 20219.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th
Street SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington,
DC 20219.
• Fax: (571) 465–4326.
Instructions: You must include
‘‘OCC’’ as the agency name and ‘‘Docket
ID OCC–2018–0008’’ in your comment.
In general, the OCC will enter all
comments received into the docket and
publish the comments on the
Regulations.gov website without
change, including any business or
personal information provided such as
name and address information, email
addresses, or phone numbers.
Comments received, including
attachments and other supporting
materials, are part of the public record
and subject to public disclosure. Do not
include any information in your
comment or supporting materials that
you consider confidential or
inappropriate for public disclosure.
You may review comments and other
related materials that pertain to this
rulemaking action by any of the
following methods:
• Viewing Comments Electronically—
Regulations.gov Classic or
Regulations.gov Beta:
Regulations.gov Classic: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov/. Enter ‘‘Docket ID
OCC–2018–0008’’ in the Search box and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Click on ‘‘Open Docket
Folder’’ on the right side of the screen.
Comments and supporting materials can
be viewed and filtered by clicking on
‘‘View all documents and comments in
this docket’’ and then using the filtering
tools on the left side of the screen. Click
on the ‘‘Help’’ tab on the
Regulations.gov home page to get
information on using Regulations.gov.
The docket may be viewed after the
close of the comment period in the same
manner as during the comment period.
Regulations.gov Beta: Go to https://
beta.regulations.gov/ or click ‘‘Visit
New Regulations.gov Site’’ from the
Regulations.gov Classic homepage.
Enter ‘‘Docket ID OCC–2018–0008’’ in
the Search Box and click ‘‘Search.’’
Click on the ‘‘Comments’’ tab.
Comments can be viewed and filtered
by clicking on the ‘‘Sort By’’ drop-down
on the right side of the screen or the
‘‘Refine Results’’ options on the left side
of the screen. Supporting materials can
be viewed by clicking on the
‘‘Documents’’ tab and filtered by
clicking on the ‘‘Sort By’’ drop-down on
the right side of the screen or the
‘‘Refine Results’’ options on the left side
of the screen.’’ For assistance with the
Regulations.gov Beta site, please call
(877) 378–5457 (toll free) or (703) 454–
9859 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET
or email regulations@
erulemakinghelpdesk.com. The docket
may be viewed after the close of the
comment period in the same manner as
during the comment period.
• Viewing Comments Personally: You
may personally inspect comments at the
OCC, 400 7th Street SW, Washington,
DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC
requires that visitors make an
appointment to inspect comments. You
may do so by calling (202) 649–6700 or,
for persons who are deaf or hearing
impaired, TTY, (202) 649–5597. Upon
arrival, visitors will be required to
present valid government-issued photo
identification and submit to security
screening in order to inspect comments.
FDIC: You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 3064–AF22, by any of
the following methods:
• Agency Website: http://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/
propose.html. Follow instructions for
submitting comments on the Agency
website.
• Email: Comments@fdic.gov. Include
the RIN 3064–AF22 on the subject line
of the message.
• Mail: Robert E. Feldman, Executive
Secretary, Attention: Comments, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th
Street NW, Washington, DC 20429.
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with PROPOSALS2
1205Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 6 / Thursday, January 9, 2020 / Proposed Rules
1 12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(2).
2 As used throughout this notice, the term ‘‘bank’’
or ‘‘banks’’ also includes uninsured Federal
branches that result from an acquisition described
in section 5(a)(8) of the International Banking Act
of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3103(a)(8)).
3 Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, Public
Law 95–128, 91 Stat. 1147 (1977), codified at 12
U.S.C. 2901 et seq.
4 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.
5 42 U.S.C. 3604–3606.
6 15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.
7 Interagency Fair Lending Examination
Procedures, p. iv (Aug. 2009), available at https://
www.ffiec.gov/pdf/fairlend.pdf.
8 12 U.S.C. 2901(a).
9 The OCC is the primary regulator for national
banks and federal savings associations. The FDIC is
the primary Federal regulator for state-chartered
non-member banks and savings associations.
10 12 CFR parts 25, 195, 228, and 345. The Office
of Thrift Supervision and its predecessor agencies
were also charged with implementing the CRA. Its
powers and duties with respect to CRA were
transferred to the OCC in Title III of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,
Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376, 1520 (2010).
11 The agencies and the Board made additional
substantive changes in 2005; however, those
changes were not as transformative as the 1995
revisions.
12 The review is required by section 2222 of the
Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1996, Public Law 104–208, 110
Stat. 3009, 3311 (1996), codified at 12 U.S.C. 3311
(1996).
• Hand Delivery: Comments may be
hand delivered to the guard station at
the rear of the 550 17th Street Building
(located on F Street) on business days
between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Instructions: All comments received
must include the agency name and RIN
3064–AF22 for this rulemaking. All
comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.fdic.gov/
regulations/laws/federal/propose.html,
including any personal information
provided. Paper copies of public
comments may be ordered from the
FDIC Public Information Center, 3501
North Fairfax Drive, Room E–1002,
Arlington, VA 22226 by telephone at
(877) 275–3342 or (703) 562–2200.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC: Vonda Eanes, Director for CRA
and Fair Lending Policy, Bobbie K.
Kennedy, Technical Expert for CRA and
Fair Lending, or Karen Bellesi, Director
for Community Development, Bank
Supervision Policy, (202) 649–5470; or
Allison Hester-Haddad, Counsel, Emily
R. Boyes, Counsel, or Elizabeth Small,
Senior Attorney, Chief Counsel’s Office,
(202) 649–5490, Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th
Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. For
persons who are deaf or hearing
impaired, TTY users may contact (202)
649–5597.
FDIC: Patience R. Singleton, Senior
Policy Analyst, Supervisory Policy
Branch, Division of Depositor and
Consumer Protection, (202) 898–6859;
Cassandra Duhaney, Senior Policy
Analyst, Supervisory Policy Branch,
Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, (202) 898–6804; Pamela
Freeman, Senior Examination
Specialist, Examination Branch,
Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, (202) 898–3656; Jessica
Thurman, Examination Specialist,
Examination Branch, Division of
Depositor and Consumer Protection,
(202) 898–3578; Richard M. Schwartz,
Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898–
7424; or Sherry Ann Betancourt,
Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898–
6560, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, 550 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20429.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Community Reinvestment Act of
1977 (CRA) encourages insured
depository institutions 1 (banks) 2 to
help meet the credit needs of the local
communities in which they are
chartered, consistent with banks’ safe
and sound operations, by requiring
federal banking regulatory agencies to
examine banks’ records of meeting the
credit needs of their entire community,
including low- and moderate-income
(LMI) neighborhoods.3 The CRA was
one of several laws enacted in the 1960s
and 1970s to address fairness and access
to housing and credit. During this
period, Congress passed the Fair
Housing Act in 1968,4 to prohibit
discrimination in renting or buying a
home,5 and the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act in 1974 6 (amended in
1976), to prohibit creditors from
discriminating against an applicant on
the basis of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, or age. These
fair lending laws provide the legal basis
for prohibiting discriminatory lending
practices, such as redlining.7
Congress enacted the CRA with the
purpose of encouraging sound lending
to all areas of a bank’s community.
Specifically, in passing the CRA,
Congress found that (1) banks are
required by law to demonstrate that
their deposit facilities serve the
convenience and needs of the
communities in which they are
chartered to do business; (2) the
convenience and needs of communities
include the need for credit services as
well as deposit services; and (3) banks
have a continuing and affirmative
obligation to help meet the credit needs
of the local communities in which they
are chartered.8
The Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (together,
the agencies) 9 as well as the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board) previously issued
regulations to implement the statute.10
Since then, the agencies and the Board
have issued, revised, and sought to
clarify the CRA regulations several
times. The last major revisions to the
regulations were made in 1995.11
During the past 25 years, technology
and the expansion of interstate banking
have transformed the financial services
industry, how banks deliver their
services, and how customers choose to
bank. These changes affect banks of all
sizes and are most evident in banks that
have a limited physical presence or rely
heavily on technology to deliver their
products and services. As banking has
evolved, banks’ communities have
evolved beyond those that are solely
identifiable by the delineated areas
surrounding banks’ physical locations.
At the same time, communities’ needs
for community development (CD)
lending and investment have evolved,
and the agencies have gained a greater
understanding of those needs, such as
the need for CD investments and loans
with maturities longer than the typical
CRA evaluation period and the need for
equity and capital in addition to credit.
The current CRA regulatory framework
has not kept pace with the
transformation of banking and has had
the unintended consequence of
incentivizing banks to limit some of
their CD loans and investments to
shorter terms than otherwise may be
best to meet the needs of their
communities.
Over the last decade, stakeholders
have called for comprehensive changes
to the CRA regulatory framework to
ensure that the CRA remains a relevant
and powerful tool for encouraging banks
to serve the needs of their entire
communities, including LMI
neighborhoods. In 2014, the agencies
and the Board conducted a decennial
review of their regulations, with input
from the public, to identify outdated,
unnecessary, or unduly burdensome
regulations and consider how to reduce
regulatory burden on insured depository
institutions—while, at the same time,
ensuring the safety and soundness of
these institutions and of the financial
system.12 In 2017, the agencies and the
Board issued a report to Congress that
included a summary of the public
comments and recommendations to
improve the CRA regulatory framework
gathered during the three-year review
process. Among the most frequently
raised issues were (1) the assessment
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lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with PROPOSALS2
1 12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(2).
2 As used throughout this notice, the term ‘‘bank’’
or ‘‘banks’’ also includes uninsured Federal
branches that result from an acquisition described
in section 5(a)(8) of the International Banking Act
of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3103(a)(8)).
3 Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, Public
Law 95–128, 91 Stat. 1147 (1977), codified at 12
U.S.C. 2901 et seq.
4 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.
5 42 U.S.C. 3604–3606.
6 15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.
7 Interagency Fair Lending Examination
Procedures, p. iv (Aug. 2009), available at https://
www.ffiec.gov/pdf/fairlend.pdf.
8 12 U.S.C. 2901(a).
9 The OCC is the primary regulator for national
banks and federal savings associations. The FDIC is
the primary Federal regulator for state-chartered
non-member banks and savings associations.
10 12 CFR parts 25, 195, 228, and 345. The Office
of Thrift Supervision and its predecessor agencies
were also charged with implementing the CRA. Its
powers and duties with respect to CRA were
transferred to the OCC in Title III of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,
Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376, 1520 (2010).
11 The agencies and the Board made additional
substantive changes in 2005; however, those
changes were not as transformative as the 1995
revisions.
12 The review is required by section 2222 of the
Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1996, Public Law 104–208, 110
Stat. 3009, 3311 (1996), codified at 12 U.S.C. 3311
(1996).
• Hand Delivery: Comments may be
hand delivered to the guard station at
the rear of the 550 17th Street Building
(located on F Street) on business days
between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Instructions: All comments received
must include the agency name and RIN
3064–AF22 for this rulemaking. All
comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.fdic.gov/
regulations/laws/federal/propose.html,
including any personal information
provided. Paper copies of public
comments may be ordered from the
FDIC Public Information Center, 3501
North Fairfax Drive, Room E–1002,
Arlington, VA 22226 by telephone at
(877) 275–3342 or (703) 562–2200.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC: Vonda Eanes, Director for CRA
and Fair Lending Policy, Bobbie K.
Kennedy, Technical Expert for CRA and
Fair Lending, or Karen Bellesi, Director
for Community Development, Bank
Supervision Policy, (202) 649–5470; or
Allison Hester-Haddad, Counsel, Emily
R. Boyes, Counsel, or Elizabeth Small,
Senior Attorney, Chief Counsel’s Office,
(202) 649–5490, Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th
Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. For
persons who are deaf or hearing
impaired, TTY users may contact (202)
649–5597.
FDIC: Patience R. Singleton, Senior
Policy Analyst, Supervisory Policy
Branch, Division of Depositor and
Consumer Protection, (202) 898–6859;
Cassandra Duhaney, Senior Policy
Analyst, Supervisory Policy Branch,
Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, (202) 898–6804; Pamela
Freeman, Senior Examination
Specialist, Examination Branch,
Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, (202) 898–3656; Jessica
Thurman, Examination Specialist,
Examination Branch, Division of
Depositor and Consumer Protection,
(202) 898–3578; Richard M. Schwartz,
Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898–
7424; or Sherry Ann Betancourt,
Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 898–
6560, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, 550 17th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20429.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Community Reinvestment Act of
1977 (CRA) encourages insured
depository institutions 1 (banks) 2 to
help meet the credit needs of the local
communities in which they are
chartered, consistent with banks’ safe
and sound operations, by requiring
federal banking regulatory agencies to
examine banks’ records of meeting the
credit needs of their entire community,
including low- and moderate-income
(LMI) neighborhoods.3 The CRA was
one of several laws enacted in the 1960s
and 1970s to address fairness and access
to housing and credit. During this
period, Congress passed the Fair
Housing Act in 1968,4 to prohibit
discrimination in renting or buying a
home,5 and the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act in 1974 6 (amended in
1976), to prohibit creditors from
discriminating against an applicant on
the basis of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex, marital status, or age. These
fair lending laws provide the legal basis
for prohibiting discriminatory lending
practices, such as redlining.7
Congress enacted the CRA with the
purpose of encouraging sound lending
to all areas of a bank’s community.
Specifically, in passing the CRA,
Congress found that (1) banks are
required by law to demonstrate that
their deposit facilities serve the
convenience and needs of the
communities in which they are
chartered to do business; (2) the
convenience and needs of communities
include the need for credit services as
well as deposit services; and (3) banks
have a continuing and affirmative
obligation to help meet the credit needs
of the local communities in which they
are chartered.8
The Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (together,
the agencies) 9 as well as the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board) previously issued
regulations to implement the statute.10
Since then, the agencies and the Board
have issued, revised, and sought to
clarify the CRA regulations several
times. The last major revisions to the
regulations were made in 1995.11
During the past 25 years, technology
and the expansion of interstate banking
have transformed the financial services
industry, how banks deliver their
services, and how customers choose to
bank. These changes affect banks of all
sizes and are most evident in banks that
have a limited physical presence or rely
heavily on technology to deliver their
products and services. As banking has
evolved, banks’ communities have
evolved beyond those that are solely
identifiable by the delineated areas
surrounding banks’ physical locations.
At the same time, communities’ needs
for community development (CD)
lending and investment have evolved,
and the agencies have gained a greater
understanding of those needs, such as
the need for CD investments and loans
with maturities longer than the typical
CRA evaluation period and the need for
equity and capital in addition to credit.
The current CRA regulatory framework
has not kept pace with the
transformation of banking and has had
the unintended consequence of
incentivizing banks to limit some of
their CD loans and investments to
shorter terms than otherwise may be
best to meet the needs of their
communities.
Over the last decade, stakeholders
have called for comprehensive changes
to the CRA regulatory framework to
ensure that the CRA remains a relevant
and powerful tool for encouraging banks
to serve the needs of their entire
communities, including LMI
neighborhoods. In 2014, the agencies
and the Board conducted a decennial
review of their regulations, with input
from the public, to identify outdated,
unnecessary, or unduly burdensome
regulations and consider how to reduce
regulatory burden on insured depository
institutions—while, at the same time,
ensuring the safety and soundness of
these institutions and of the financial
system.12 In 2017, the agencies and the
Board issued a report to Congress that
included a summary of the public
comments and recommendations to
improve the CRA regulatory framework
gathered during the three-year review
process. Among the most frequently
raised issues were (1) the assessment
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