The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) (collectively, the Agencies) are issuing this joint interim rule with request for comment to implement section 306 of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (CDRI), and section 2221 of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA). CDRI section 306 and EGRPRA section 2221 authorize the Agencies to increase the asset size of certain financial institutions that may be examined once in every 18-month period, rather than once in every 12-month period, from the current limit of $100 million to a revised limit of $250 million. This interim rule makes certain institutions that have $250 million or less in assets eligible for the 18-month examination schedule. Furthermore, section 2214 of EGRPRA amends the International Banking Act of 1978 and requires that each Federal branch or agency, and each State branch or agency, of a foreign bank be subject to on- site examination by an appropriate Federal banking agency or State banking supervisor as frequently as would a national or a state bank, respectively, by the appropriate Federal banking agency. Certain issues are raised regarding the manner in which the criteria established by CDRI and EGRPRA for a national or state bank should be made applicable to U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banking organizations. The method(s) by which the criteria will be applied to such entities is currently being developed.