To All Depository Institutions and Others Concerned in the Second Federal Reserve District:

In a press release, the Federal Reserve Board asked for comments on an interagency proposal to revise regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

The CRA is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet credit needs in their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The agencies are proposing limited amendments to the regulation in two areas.

• Amend the definition of "small institution," a category of institutions entitled to streamlined CRA evaluations, to include banks and thrifts with total assets of less than $500 million (the threshold is now $250 million), and eliminate consideration of an institution's holding company size (now, an institution is not "small" if its holding company is larger than $1 billion).
• Specify when unlawful discrimination, other illegal credit practices, or abusive asset-based lending by a bank or its affiliate might adversely affect the banks' CRA rating.

The agencies also propose enhancements to the loan data they disclose in CRA public evaluations and CRA disclosure statements. A notice of proposed rulemaking will be published jointly after it has been acted upon by all of the banking agencies with CRA supervisory responsibilities.

The Board invites comment on the proposal by April 6, 2004.

Press release (January 21, 2004)
Press release (February 6, 2004)
Community Reinvestment Act -- Regulation BB
Federal Register notice
45 page / 266 kb

Contact:
Robert Gutierrez
Examining Officer
Legal and Compliance Risk Function
robert.gutierrez@ny.frb.org

William L. Rutledge
Executive Vice President