On May 18, 2021, the OCC announced through issuing OCC Bulletin 2021-24 that it will reconsider the final Community Reinvestment Act rule published on June 5, 2020, which applied to national banks and federal savings associations under its supervision. While this reconsideration is ongoing, the OCC has indicated it will not object to the suspension of the development of systems for, or other implementation of, provisions with a compliance date of January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, under the 2020 rule.
At this time, the OCC also does not plan to finalize the December 4, 2020, proposed rule that requested comment on an approach to determine the CRA evaluation measure benchmarks, retail lending distribution test thresholds, and community development minimums under the June 2020 rule. In addition, the OCC is discontinuing the CRA information collection pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) notice published in the Federal Register in December 2020.
Per the bulletin, while this reconsideration is ongoing, the OCC will not implement or rely on the evaluation criteria in the June 2020 rule pertaining to:
The bulletin also indicated the OCC will continue to implement the provisions of the June 2020 CRA rule that had a compliance date of October 1, 2020. The OCC interpreted and explained these provisions and implementation efforts in OCC Bulletin 2020-99, which include:
The OCC’s actions are intended to provide for an orderly reconsideration of the June 2020 rule and provide banks with more flexibility to deploy resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions also intend to provide the OCC with the opportunity to consider additional stakeholder input, to evaluate issues and questions that have been raised, to reassess the necessary data, and to take additional regulatory action, as appropriate.
Review the entire bulletin regarding the OCC’s reconsideration of its CRA rules at the following link:
https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2021/bulletin-2021-24.html
OCC supervised institutions are reminded to maintain appropriate documentation for CRA examination purposes required under OCC Bulletin 2020-99. Such documentation includes the qualifying criteria met by the activity, the area(s) served by the activity, and the date and amount of the activity (including the basis for full or partial consideration). Certain banks previously subject to data collection and reporting under the 1995 CRA framework will continue to report large bank CRA data during the transition period, as specified in OCC Bulletin 2020-99.
Review the entire bulletin regarding the Community Reinvestment Act: Key Provisions of the June 2020 CRA Rule and Frequently Asked Questions at the following link:
https://occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2020/bulletin-2020-99.htm
At this time, the OCC also does not plan to finalize the December 4, 2020, proposed rule that requested comment on an approach to determine the CRA evaluation measure benchmarks, retail lending distribution test thresholds, and community development minimums under the June 2020 rule. In addition, the OCC is discontinuing the CRA information collection pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) notice published in the Federal Register in December 2020.
Per the bulletin, while this reconsideration is ongoing, the OCC will not implement or rely on the evaluation criteria in the June 2020 rule pertaining to:
- Quantification of qualifying activities (12 CFR 25.07 and 25.08).
- Assessment areas (12 CFR 25.09).
- General performance standards (12 CFR 25.10 through 25.13).
- Data collection (12 CFR 25.21).
- Recordkeeping (12 CFR 25.25); and
- Reporting (12 CFR 25.26).
The bulletin also indicated the OCC will continue to implement the provisions of the June 2020 CRA rule that had a compliance date of October 1, 2020. The OCC interpreted and explained these provisions and implementation efforts in OCC Bulletin 2020-99, which include:
- Issuance of OCC Bulletin 2021-5 providing bank type determinations, lists of distressed and underserved areas, and the median hourly compensation value for community development service activities.
- Deployment of the CRA Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request process for banks and other stakeholders to request confirmation whether an activity meets the qualifying criteria under the June 2020 CRA rule; and
- Providing training on provisions of the June 2020 rule with the October 1, 2020, compliance date in a series of webinars for examiners and bankers.
The OCC’s actions are intended to provide for an orderly reconsideration of the June 2020 rule and provide banks with more flexibility to deploy resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions also intend to provide the OCC with the opportunity to consider additional stakeholder input, to evaluate issues and questions that have been raised, to reassess the necessary data, and to take additional regulatory action, as appropriate.
Review the entire bulletin regarding the OCC’s reconsideration of its CRA rules at the following link:
https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2021/bulletin-2021-24.html
OCC supervised institutions are reminded to maintain appropriate documentation for CRA examination purposes required under OCC Bulletin 2020-99. Such documentation includes the qualifying criteria met by the activity, the area(s) served by the activity, and the date and amount of the activity (including the basis for full or partial consideration). Certain banks previously subject to data collection and reporting under the 1995 CRA framework will continue to report large bank CRA data during the transition period, as specified in OCC Bulletin 2020-99.
Review the entire bulletin regarding the Community Reinvestment Act: Key Provisions of the June 2020 CRA Rule and Frequently Asked Questions at the following link:
https://occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2020/bulletin-2020-99.htm
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