The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) wrote a letter to the Federal Reserve (Fed) addressing updates to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The letter was in response to a Fed advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) and urged the agency to work with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in further developments.
“ICBA and the nation’s community banks appreciate regulatory efforts to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a release. “Because current regulations and approaches are outdated and can serve as barriers to implementing CRA’s very mission, we encourage banking regulators to work together on an interagency rule.”
The ICBA called for a joint rule to reflect technology-driven changes to the banking industry; recognize the disproportionate burden of additional data collection and reporting on community banks; provide clarity on credit reporting agency ratings and definitions; strengthen incentives for partnerships with minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions; and include a nationwide evaluation for Internet banks.
“Once again, ICBA appreciates this opportunity to provide feedback to the Federal Reserve Board regarding its ANPR on reforming and modernizing the CRA regulatory framework,” the letter concluded. “Community banks are inextricably bound with the local economy of their community. They only succeed when the entire community, including [low- or moderate- income] families, small farms, and small businesses, succeed. Therefore, ICBA and community banks continue to support fair, equitable, consistent, and transparent implementation of the Community Reinvestment Act.”