This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
Proposed Rules Federal Register
43910
Vol. 82, No. 181
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
12 CFR Parts 25 and 195
[Docket ID OCC–2017–0008]
RIN 1557–AE15
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 228
[Docket No. R–1574]
RIN 7100–AE84
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Part 345
RIN 3064–AE58
Community Reinvestment Act
Regulations
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury; Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System; and
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
ACTION: Joint notice of proposed
rulemaking; request for comment.
SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency (OCC), the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board), and the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
(collectively, the Agencies) propose to
amend their regulations implementing
the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
to update the existing definitions of
‘‘home mortgage loan’’ and ‘‘consumer
loan,’’ related cross references, and the
public file content requirements to
conform recent revisions made by the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(Bureau) to Regulation C, which
implements the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act (HMDA), and to remove
obsolete references to the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program (NSP).
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before October 20, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
directed to:
OCC: Because paper mail in the
Washington, DC area and at the OCC is
subject to delay, 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’’: Go to
www.regulations.gov. Enter ‘‘Docket ID
OCC–2017–0008’’ in the Search box and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Click on ‘‘Comment
Now’’ to submit public comments.
• Click on the ‘‘Help’’ tab on the
Regulations.gov home page to get
information on using Regulations.gov,
including instructions for submitting
public comments.
• Email: regs.comments@
occ.treas.gov.
• Mail: Legislative and Regulatory
Activities Division, 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, Mail Stop
9W–11, Washington, DC 20219.
• Fax: (571) 465–4326.
Instructions: You must include
‘‘OCC’’ as the agency name and ‘‘Docket
ID OCC–2017–0008’’ in your comment.
In general, OCC will enter all comments
received into the docket and publish
them on the Regulations.gov Web site
without change, including any business
or personal information that you
provide 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:
Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter
‘‘Docket ID OCC–2017–0008’’ 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.
• Viewing Comments Personally: You
may personally inspect and photocopy
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 hard of hearing, 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
and photocopy comments.
Board: When submitting comments,
please consider submitting your
comments by email or fax because paper
mail in the Washington, DC area and at
the Board may be subject to delay. You
may submit comments, identified by
Docket No. R–XXXX and RIN XXXX–
XXXX, by any of the following methods:
• Agency Web site: http://
www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/general
info/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Email: regs.comments@
federalreserve.gov. Include docket and
RIN numbers in the subject line of the
message.
• Fax: (202) 452–3819 or (202) 452–
3102.
• Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20551.
Instructions: All public comments
will be made available on the Board’s
Web site at http://www.federal
reserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/
ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, unless
modified for technical reasons.
Accordingly, your comments will not be
edited to remove any identifying or
contact information. Public comments
VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:23 Sep 19, 2017 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\20SEP1.SGM 20SEP1
sradovich on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
Proposed Rules Federal Register
43910
Vol. 82, No. 181
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency
12 CFR Parts 25 and 195
[Docket ID OCC–2017–0008]
RIN 1557–AE15
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 228
[Docket No. R–1574]
RIN 7100–AE84
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Part 345
RIN 3064–AE58
Community Reinvestment Act
Regulations
AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency, Treasury; Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System; and
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
ACTION: Joint notice of proposed
rulemaking; request for comment.
SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller
of the Currency (OCC), the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System (Board), and the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
(collectively, the Agencies) propose to
amend their regulations implementing
the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
to update the existing definitions of
‘‘home mortgage loan’’ and ‘‘consumer
loan,’’ related cross references, and the
public file content requirements to
conform recent revisions made by the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(Bureau) to Regulation C, which
implements the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act (HMDA), and to remove
obsolete references to the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program (NSP).
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before October 20, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
directed to:
OCC: Because paper mail in the
Washington, DC area and at the OCC is
subject to delay, 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’’: Go to
www.regulations.gov. Enter ‘‘Docket ID
OCC–2017–0008’’ in the Search box and
click ‘‘Search.’’ Click on ‘‘Comment
Now’’ to submit public comments.
• Click on the ‘‘Help’’ tab on the
Regulations.gov home page to get
information on using Regulations.gov,
including instructions for submitting
public comments.
• Email: regs.comments@
occ.treas.gov.
• Mail: Legislative and Regulatory
Activities Division, 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, Mail Stop
9W–11, Washington, DC 20219.
• Fax: (571) 465–4326.
Instructions: You must include
‘‘OCC’’ as the agency name and ‘‘Docket
ID OCC–2017–0008’’ in your comment.
In general, OCC will enter all comments
received into the docket and publish
them on the Regulations.gov Web site
without change, including any business
or personal information that you
provide 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:
Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter
‘‘Docket ID OCC–2017–0008’’ 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.
• Viewing Comments Personally: You
may personally inspect and photocopy
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 hard of hearing, 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
and photocopy comments.
Board: When submitting comments,
please consider submitting your
comments by email or fax because paper
mail in the Washington, DC area and at
the Board may be subject to delay. You
may submit comments, identified by
Docket No. R–XXXX and RIN XXXX–
XXXX, by any of the following methods:
• Agency Web site: http://
www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/general
info/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Email: regs.comments@
federalreserve.gov. Include docket and
RIN numbers in the subject line of the
message.
• Fax: (202) 452–3819 or (202) 452–
3102.
• Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20551.
Instructions: All public comments
will be made available on the Board’s
Web site at http://www.federal
reserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/
ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, unless
modified for technical reasons.
Accordingly, your comments will not be
edited to remove any identifying or
contact information. Public comments
VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:23 Sep 19, 2017 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\20SEP1.SGM 20SEP1
sradovich on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
43911Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2017 / Proposed Rules
1 ‘‘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 60 FR 22156 (May 4, 1995). The CRA regulations
were also issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision
(OTS). In 2010, the OTS was integrated with the
OCC pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank
Act) (15 U.S.C. 5413), and the regulation of thrifts
was transferred to the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC
(15 U.S.C. 5412).
3 The Agencies originally proposed that the
definition of ‘‘home mortgage loan’’ include all
mortgage loans reportable under both the HMDA
statute and its implementing regulations (see 58 FR
67466, at 67473, Dec. 21, 1993). However, some
commenters noted that the Board had already
refined the definition of home mortgage loan in its
HMDA regulations (12 CFR part 203). These
commenters indicated it would be preferable and,
perhaps, less confusing if the Agencies only
referred to the Board’s HMDA regulations, rather
than both the HMDA statute and the regulation. As
a result of these comments, the Agencies amended
the proposed definition in the 1995 CRA Rule and
defined ‘‘home mortgage loan’’ as a ‘‘home
improvement loan’’ or a ‘‘home purchase loan,’’ as
those terms were defined in 12 CFR 203.2 of the
Board’s Regulation C.
may also be viewed electronically or in
paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street
NW. (between 18th and 19th Streets,
NW.), Washington, DC 20006 between
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
For security reasons, the Board requires
that visitors make an appointment to
inspect comments. You may do so by
calling (202) 452–3684. Upon arrival,
visitors will be required to present valid
government-issued photo identification
and to submit to security screening in
order to inspect and photocopy
comments.
FDIC: You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 3064–AE62, by any of
the following methods:
• Agency Web site: http://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/
propose.html. Follow instructions for
submitting comments on the Agency
Web site.
• Email: Comments@fdic.gov. Include
the RIN 3064–AE62 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.
• 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–AE62 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: Emily R. Boyes, Attorney,
Community and Consumer Law
Division, (202) 649–6350; Allison
Hester-Haddad, Counsel, Legislative and
Regulatory Activities Division, (202)
649–5490; for persons who are deaf or
hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649–5597;
or Vonda J. Eanes, Director for CRA and
Fair Lending Policy, Compliance Risk
Policy Division, (202) 649–6907, Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400
7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219.
Board: Amal S. Patel, Senior
Supervisory Consumer Financial
Services Analyst, Division of Consumer
and Community Affairs, (202) 912–
7879; Cathy Gates, Senior Project
Manager, Division of Consumer and
Community Affairs, (202) 452–2099,
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, Division of Depositor and
Consumer Protection, (202) 898–6859;
Sharon B. Vejvoda, Senior Examination
Specialist, Examination Branch,
Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, (202) 898–3881; 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:
Background
The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC
implement the 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 the local communities in
which an institution is chartered. The
CRA regulations establish the
framework and criteria by which the
Agencies assess a financial 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. Under the CRA regulations,
the Agencies apply different evaluation
standards for financial institutions of
different asset sizes and types.
The Agencies also publish the
Interagency Questions and Answers
Regarding Community Reinvestment
(Questions and Answers) 1 to provide
guidance on the interpretation and
application of the CRA regulations to
agency personnel, financial institutions,
and the public.
Introduction
The Agencies jointly propose to
amend their regulations implementing
the CRA (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). This
proposed rulemaking amends the
current definitions of ‘‘home mortgage
loan’’ and ‘‘consumer loan’’ and the
public file content requirements to
conform to recent revisions made by the
Bureau to its Regulation C, which
implements HMDA, makes technical
amendments to remove unnecessary
cross references as a result of the
amended definitions, and removes an
obsolete reference to the NSP.
Amendments To Conform the CRA
Regulations to Recent Revisions to the
Bureau’s Regulation C
Conforming Changes to the ‘‘Home
Mortgage Loan’’ Definition
The CRA regulations specify the type
of lending and other activities that the
Agencies evaluate to assess a financial
institution’s CRA performance. In 1995,
the Agencies substantively amended
their CRA regulations to clarify the
methods that examiners use to assess
financial institutions’ CRA performance
(1995 CRA Rule).2 These amended
regulations added the definition of
‘‘home mortgage loan,’’ to describe a
category of loans that examiners
evaluate when assessing a financial
institution’s performance under the
retail lending test. As part of efforts to
produce a less-burdensome CRA
assessment process, the Agencies relied
on the scope of loans reported under the
Board’s Regulation C, which
implemented HMDA at the time, to
define ‘‘home mortgage loan.’’ (12 CFR
part 203 (1995)).3 The Board’s
Regulation C required a HMDA reporter
to report data to its supervisory agency
on originations, purchases, and
applications for loans that were made
for one of two purposes: Home purchase
or home improvement. (See 12 CFR
203.1(c) (1995)). As a result, the 1995
CRA Rule defined ‘‘home mortgage
loan’’ to mean ‘‘home purchase loan’’ or
‘‘home improvement loan,’’ as those
terms were defined in the Board’s
Regulation C in 12 CFR 203.2.
On February 15, 2002, the Board
made substantial revisions to its
Regulation C (2002 HMDA Rule),
including, among other things, changing
the scope of loans reported under
Regulation C to include all refinancings,
VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:23 Sep 19, 2017 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\20SEP1.SGM 20SEP1
sradovich on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
1 ‘‘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 60 FR 22156 (May 4, 1995). The CRA regulations
were also issued by the Office of Thrift Supervision
(OTS). In 2010, the OTS was integrated with the
OCC pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank
Act) (15 U.S.C. 5413), and the regulation of thrifts
was transferred to the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC
(15 U.S.C. 5412).
3 The Agencies originally proposed that the
definition of ‘‘home mortgage loan’’ include all
mortgage loans reportable under both the HMDA
statute and its implementing regulations (see 58 FR
67466, at 67473, Dec. 21, 1993). However, some
commenters noted that the Board had already
refined the definition of home mortgage loan in its
HMDA regulations (12 CFR part 203). These
commenters indicated it would be preferable and,
perhaps, less confusing if the Agencies only
referred to the Board’s HMDA regulations, rather
than both the HMDA statute and the regulation. As
a result of these comments, the Agencies amended
the proposed definition in the 1995 CRA Rule and
defined ‘‘home mortgage loan’’ as a ‘‘home
improvement loan’’ or a ‘‘home purchase loan,’’ as
those terms were defined in 12 CFR 203.2 of the
Board’s Regulation C.
may also be viewed electronically or in
paper form in Room 3515, 1801 K Street
NW. (between 18th and 19th Streets,
NW.), Washington, DC 20006 between
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
For security reasons, the Board requires
that visitors make an appointment to
inspect comments. You may do so by
calling (202) 452–3684. Upon arrival,
visitors will be required to present valid
government-issued photo identification
and to submit to security screening in
order to inspect and photocopy
comments.
FDIC: You may submit comments,
identified by RIN 3064–AE62, by any of
the following methods:
• Agency Web site: http://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/
propose.html. Follow instructions for
submitting comments on the Agency
Web site.
• Email: Comments@fdic.gov. Include
the RIN 3064–AE62 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.
• 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–AE62 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: Emily R. Boyes, Attorney,
Community and Consumer Law
Division, (202) 649–6350; Allison
Hester-Haddad, Counsel, Legislative and
Regulatory Activities Division, (202)
649–5490; for persons who are deaf or
hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649–5597;
or Vonda J. Eanes, Director for CRA and
Fair Lending Policy, Compliance Risk
Policy Division, (202) 649–6907, Office
of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400
7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219.
Board: Amal S. Patel, Senior
Supervisory Consumer Financial
Services Analyst, Division of Consumer
and Community Affairs, (202) 912–
7879; Cathy Gates, Senior Project
Manager, Division of Consumer and
Community Affairs, (202) 452–2099,
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, Division of Depositor and
Consumer Protection, (202) 898–6859;
Sharon B. Vejvoda, Senior Examination
Specialist, Examination Branch,
Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection, (202) 898–3881; 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:
Background
The Board, the FDIC, and the OCC
implement the 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 the local communities in
which an institution is chartered. The
CRA regulations establish the
framework and criteria by which the
Agencies assess a financial 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. Under the CRA regulations,
the Agencies apply different evaluation
standards for financial institutions of
different asset sizes and types.
The Agencies also publish the
Interagency Questions and Answers
Regarding Community Reinvestment
(Questions and Answers) 1 to provide
guidance on the interpretation and
application of the CRA regulations to
agency personnel, financial institutions,
and the public.
Introduction
The Agencies jointly propose to
amend their regulations implementing
the CRA (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). This
proposed rulemaking amends the
current definitions of ‘‘home mortgage
loan’’ and ‘‘consumer loan’’ and the
public file content requirements to
conform to recent revisions made by the
Bureau to its Regulation C, which
implements HMDA, makes technical
amendments to remove unnecessary
cross references as a result of the
amended definitions, and removes an
obsolete reference to the NSP.
Amendments To Conform the CRA
Regulations to Recent Revisions to the
Bureau’s Regulation C
Conforming Changes to the ‘‘Home
Mortgage Loan’’ Definition
The CRA regulations specify the type
of lending and other activities that the
Agencies evaluate to assess a financial
institution’s CRA performance. In 1995,
the Agencies substantively amended
their CRA regulations to clarify the
methods that examiners use to assess
financial institutions’ CRA performance
(1995 CRA Rule).2 These amended
regulations added the definition of
‘‘home mortgage loan,’’ to describe a
category of loans that examiners
evaluate when assessing a financial
institution’s performance under the
retail lending test. As part of efforts to
produce a less-burdensome CRA
assessment process, the Agencies relied
on the scope of loans reported under the
Board’s Regulation C, which
implemented HMDA at the time, to
define ‘‘home mortgage loan.’’ (12 CFR
part 203 (1995)).3 The Board’s
Regulation C required a HMDA reporter
to report data to its supervisory agency
on originations, purchases, and
applications for loans that were made
for one of two purposes: Home purchase
or home improvement. (See 12 CFR
203.1(c) (1995)). As a result, the 1995
CRA Rule defined ‘‘home mortgage
loan’’ to mean ‘‘home purchase loan’’ or
‘‘home improvement loan,’’ as those
terms were defined in the Board’s
Regulation C in 12 CFR 203.2.
On February 15, 2002, the Board
made substantial revisions to its
Regulation C (2002 HMDA Rule),
including, among other things, changing
the scope of loans reported under
Regulation C to include all refinancings,
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sradovich on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS