Federal regulators published their proposed rule for modernizing Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations in the Federal Register on Thursday. Interested stakeholders will have 60 days from the proposal’s publication to comment on its provisions.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) released details of their plan to reform CRA requirements in mid-December.
By waiting until Jan. 9 to publish the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR), the agencies have afforded the public until March 9 to submit comments.
The proposal includes the two agencies’ recommendations for establishing new assessment areas, new testing parameters and expanding the types of activities that qualify for CRA credit, among other details.
Whereas numerous industry advocates expressed support for many of the proposed changes, consumer advocates were vocal in their opposition to various recommendations in the proposal. The proposed changes also exposed a rift among regulators over certain provisions.
The Federal Reserve, which contributed to discussions that helped shape the recommendations put forth by OCC and FDIC, has yet to formally endorse the proposal.
The proposed rule’s publication came one day after Fed Governor Lael Brainard gave a speech at the Urban Institute detailing the Fed’s take on the most important considerations with regard to CRA reform.
The NPR can be found at this link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/09/2019-27940/community-reinvestment-act-regulations