OCC and FDIC propose changes to Community Reinvestment Act rules

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have proposed revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The proposal aims to align rules more closely with statutory purposes, ensure community development grants reach intended low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, and reduce regulatory burdens for community banks.

The revisions include narrowing the scope of retail banking services evaluated under the CRA by focusing on credit services and excluding deposit services. Additionally, the agencies propose significant increases to asset thresholds. Under the new framework, a “small bank” would be defined as having less than $1 billion in assets, up from the current $412 million. A new “intermediate bank” category would cover assets between $1 billion and $10 billion, while “large banks” would be those with more than $10 billion in assets. Banks with $10 billion or less in assets would receive more flexible supervision and be exempt from certain data collection and reporting requirements.