Community Reinvestment Act Regulations

The OCC, Board, FDIC, and OTS, (collectively, the Federal financial supervisory agencies or agencies) are amending their regulations concerning the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The agencies published a joint notice of proposed rulemaking on this issue on December 21, 1993 (1993 proposal) and again on October 7, 1994 (1994 proposal). This final rule reflects comments received on both proposals and the agencies' further internal considerations. The purpose of the CRA regulations is to establish the framework and criteria by which the agencies assess an institution's record of helping to meet the credit needs of its community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations, and to provide that the agencies' assessment shall be taken into account in reviewing certain applications. The final rule seeks to emphasize performance rather than process, to promote consistency in evaluations, and to eliminate unnecessary burden. As compared to the 1993 and 1994 proposals, the final rule reduces recordkeeping and reporting requirements and makes other modifications and clarifications.