Vol. 81 Monday,
No. 142 July 25, 2016
Part II
Department of the Treasury
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Federal Reserve System
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
12 CFR Parts 25, 195, 228, et al.
Community Reinvestment Act; Interagency Questions and Answers
Regarding Community Reinvestment; Guidance
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No. 142 July 25, 2016
Part II
Department of the Treasury
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Federal Reserve System
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
12 CFR Parts 25, 195, 228, et al.
Community Reinvestment Act; Interagency Questions and Answers
Regarding Community Reinvestment; Guidance
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48506 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 142 / Monday, July 25, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
1 Throughout this document, ‘‘Questions and
Answers’’ refers to the ‘‘Interagency Questions and
Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment’’ in
its entirety; ‘‘Q&A’’ refers to an individual question
and answer within the Questions and Answers.
2 75 FR 53838 (Sept. 10, 2014).
3 Q&As § ll.24(d)–1 and § ll.24(d)(3)–1.
4 Q&A § ll.22(b)(5)–1.
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
12 CFR Parts 25 and 195
[Docket ID OCC–2014–0021]
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 228
[Docket No. OP–1497]
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Part 345
Community Reinvestment Act;
Interagency Questions and Answers
Regarding Community Reinvestment;
Guidance
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board); Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Guidance on the interpretation
and application of the Community
Reinvestment Act regulations.
SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, and FDIC
(the Agencies) are adopting as final
revisions to the Interagency Questions
and Answers Regarding Community
Reinvestment (Questions and Answers)
based on the proposal issued on
September 10, 2014 addressing
alternative systems for delivering retail
banking services; community
development-related issues; and the
qualitative aspects of performance,
including innovative or flexible lending
practices and the responsiveness and
innovativeness of an institution’s loans,
qualified investments, and community
development services. The Agencies are
clarifying nine of the 10 proposed
questions and answers (Q&A), revising
four existing Q&As for consistency, and
adopting two new Q&As. The Agencies
are not adopting one of the proposed
revisions to guidance that addressed the
availability and effectiveness of retail
banking services. Finally, the Agencies
are making technical corrections to the
Questions and Answers to update cross-
references and remove references
related to the Office of Thrift
Supervision (OTS) as obsolete. The
Agencies are publishing all of the new
and revised Q&As, as well as those
Q&As that were published in 2010 and
2013 and that remain in effect in this
final guidance.
DATES: This document goes into effect
on July 25, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC: Bobbie K. Kennedy, Bank
Examiner, Compliance Policy Division,
(202) 649–5470; Vonda Eanes, National
Bank Examiner and District Community
Affairs Officer, Community Affairs,
(202) 649–6420; or Margaret Hesse,
Senior Counsel, Community and
Consumer Law Division, (202) 649–
6350, Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, 400 7th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20219.
Board: Catherine M.J. Gates, Senior
Project Manager, (202) 452–2099; or
Theresa A. Stark, Senior Project
Manager, (202) 452–2302, Division of
Consumer and Community Affairs,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20551.
FDIC: Patience R. Singleton, Senior
Policy Analyst, Supervisory Policy
Branch, (202) 898–6859; Sharon B.
Vejvoda, Senior Examination Specialist,
Compliance and CRA Examinations
Branch, (202) 898–3881; Surya Sen,
Section Chief, Supervisory Policy
Branch, (202) 898–6699, Division of
Depositor and Consumer Protection; or
Richard M. Schwartz, Counsel (202)
898–7424; or Sherry Ann Betancourt,
Counsel, (202) 898–6560, Legal
Division, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, 550 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20429.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Agencies implement the
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) (12
U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) through their CRA
regulations. See 12 CFR parts 25, 195,
228, and 345. The CRA is designed to
encourage regulated financial
institutions to help meet the credit
needs of their entire communities. The
CRA regulations establish the
framework and criteria by which the
Agencies assess an institution’s record
of helping to meet the credit needs of its
community, including low- and
moderate-income neighborhoods,
consistent with safe and sound
operations. The regulations provide
different evaluation standards for
institutions of different asset sizes and
types.
The Agencies publish the Questions
and Answers 1 to provide guidance on
the interpretation and application of the
CRA regulations to agency personnel,
financial institutions, and the public.
The Agencies first published the
Questions and Answers under the
auspices of the Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council
(FFIEC) in 1996 (61 FR 54647). The
Questions and Answers were last
published in full by the Agencies on
March 11, 2010 (2010 Questions and
Answers) (75 FR 11642). In 2013, the
Agencies adopted revised guidance on
community development topics that
amended and superseded five Q&As and
added two new Q&As (2013 Questions
and Answers) (78 FR 69671), which
supplemented the 2010 Questions and
Answers. This document supplements,
revises, republishes, and supersedes the
2010 Questions and Answers and the
2013 Questions and Answers.
The Questions and Answers are
grouped by the provision of the CRA
regulations that they discuss, are
presented in the same order as the
regulatory provisions, and employ an
abbreviated method of citing to the
regulations. For example, for thrifts, the
small savings association performance
standards appear at 12 CFR 195.26; for
national banks, the small bank
performance standards appear at 12 CFR
25.26; for Federal Reserve System
member banks supervised by the Board,
they appear at 12 CFR 228.26; and for
state nonmember banks, they appear at
12 CFR 345.26. Accordingly, the citation
would be to 12 CFR ll.26. Each Q&A
is numbered using a system that
consists of the regulatory citation and a
number, connected by a dash. For
example, the first Q&A addressing 12
CFR ll.26 would be identified as
§ ll.26–1.
Although a particular Q&A may
provide guidance on one regulatory
provision, e.g., 12 CFR ll.22, which
relates to the lending test applicable to
large institutions, its content may also
be applicable to, for example, small
institutions, which are evaluated
pursuant to small institution
performance standards found at 12 CFR
ll.26. Thus, readers with a particular
interest in small institution issues, for
example, should review Q&As relevant
to other financial institutions as well.
A. The 2014 Proposal and Overview of
Comments
On September 10, 2014, the Agencies
proposed to revise six existing Q&As.2
Two Q&As addressed the availability
and effectiveness of retail banking
services 3 and one Q&A addressed
innovative or flexible lending
practices.4 The other three proposed
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mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with RULES2
1 Throughout this document, ‘‘Questions and
Answers’’ refers to the ‘‘Interagency Questions and
Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment’’ in
its entirety; ‘‘Q&A’’ refers to an individual question
and answer within the Questions and Answers.
2 75 FR 53838 (Sept. 10, 2014).
3 Q&As § ll.24(d)–1 and § ll.24(d)(3)–1.
4 Q&A § ll.22(b)(5)–1.
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
12 CFR Parts 25 and 195
[Docket ID OCC–2014–0021]
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 228
[Docket No. OP–1497]
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Part 345
Community Reinvestment Act;
Interagency Questions and Answers
Regarding Community Reinvestment;
Guidance
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board); Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Guidance on the interpretation
and application of the Community
Reinvestment Act regulations.
SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, and FDIC
(the Agencies) are adopting as final
revisions to the Interagency Questions
and Answers Regarding Community
Reinvestment (Questions and Answers)
based on the proposal issued on
September 10, 2014 addressing
alternative systems for delivering retail
banking services; community
development-related issues; and the
qualitative aspects of performance,
including innovative or flexible lending
practices and the responsiveness and
innovativeness of an institution’s loans,
qualified investments, and community
development services. The Agencies are
clarifying nine of the 10 proposed
questions and answers (Q&A), revising
four existing Q&As for consistency, and
adopting two new Q&As. The Agencies
are not adopting one of the proposed
revisions to guidance that addressed the
availability and effectiveness of retail
banking services. Finally, the Agencies
are making technical corrections to the
Questions and Answers to update cross-
references and remove references
related to the Office of Thrift
Supervision (OTS) as obsolete. The
Agencies are publishing all of the new
and revised Q&As, as well as those
Q&As that were published in 2010 and
2013 and that remain in effect in this
final guidance.
DATES: This document goes into effect
on July 25, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCC: Bobbie K. Kennedy, Bank
Examiner, Compliance Policy Division,
(202) 649–5470; Vonda Eanes, National
Bank Examiner and District Community
Affairs Officer, Community Affairs,
(202) 649–6420; or Margaret Hesse,
Senior Counsel, Community and
Consumer Law Division, (202) 649–
6350, Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, 400 7th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20219.
Board: Catherine M.J. Gates, Senior
Project Manager, (202) 452–2099; or
Theresa A. Stark, Senior Project
Manager, (202) 452–2302, Division of
Consumer and Community Affairs,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20551.
FDIC: Patience R. Singleton, Senior
Policy Analyst, Supervisory Policy
Branch, (202) 898–6859; Sharon B.
Vejvoda, Senior Examination Specialist,
Compliance and CRA Examinations
Branch, (202) 898–3881; Surya Sen,
Section Chief, Supervisory Policy
Branch, (202) 898–6699, Division of
Depositor and Consumer Protection; or
Richard M. Schwartz, Counsel (202)
898–7424; or Sherry Ann Betancourt,
Counsel, (202) 898–6560, Legal
Division, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, 550 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20429.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Agencies implement the
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) (12
U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) through their CRA
regulations. See 12 CFR parts 25, 195,
228, and 345. The CRA is designed to
encourage regulated financial
institutions to help meet the credit
needs of their entire communities. The
CRA regulations establish the
framework and criteria by which the
Agencies assess an institution’s record
of helping to meet the credit needs of its
community, including low- and
moderate-income neighborhoods,
consistent with safe and sound
operations. The regulations provide
different evaluation standards for
institutions of different asset sizes and
types.
The Agencies publish the Questions
and Answers 1 to provide guidance on
the interpretation and application of the
CRA regulations to agency personnel,
financial institutions, and the public.
The Agencies first published the
Questions and Answers under the
auspices of the Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council
(FFIEC) in 1996 (61 FR 54647). The
Questions and Answers were last
published in full by the Agencies on
March 11, 2010 (2010 Questions and
Answers) (75 FR 11642). In 2013, the
Agencies adopted revised guidance on
community development topics that
amended and superseded five Q&As and
added two new Q&As (2013 Questions
and Answers) (78 FR 69671), which
supplemented the 2010 Questions and
Answers. This document supplements,
revises, republishes, and supersedes the
2010 Questions and Answers and the
2013 Questions and Answers.
The Questions and Answers are
grouped by the provision of the CRA
regulations that they discuss, are
presented in the same order as the
regulatory provisions, and employ an
abbreviated method of citing to the
regulations. For example, for thrifts, the
small savings association performance
standards appear at 12 CFR 195.26; for
national banks, the small bank
performance standards appear at 12 CFR
25.26; for Federal Reserve System
member banks supervised by the Board,
they appear at 12 CFR 228.26; and for
state nonmember banks, they appear at
12 CFR 345.26. Accordingly, the citation
would be to 12 CFR ll.26. Each Q&A
is numbered using a system that
consists of the regulatory citation and a
number, connected by a dash. For
example, the first Q&A addressing 12
CFR ll.26 would be identified as
§ ll.26–1.
Although a particular Q&A may
provide guidance on one regulatory
provision, e.g., 12 CFR ll.22, which
relates to the lending test applicable to
large institutions, its content may also
be applicable to, for example, small
institutions, which are evaluated
pursuant to small institution
performance standards found at 12 CFR
ll.26. Thus, readers with a particular
interest in small institution issues, for
example, should review Q&As relevant
to other financial institutions as well.
A. The 2014 Proposal and Overview of
Comments
On September 10, 2014, the Agencies
proposed to revise six existing Q&As.2
Two Q&As addressed the availability
and effectiveness of retail banking
services 3 and one Q&A addressed
innovative or flexible lending
practices.4 The other three proposed
VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:56 Jul 22, 2016 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\25JYR2.SGM 25JYR2
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with RULES2