Community Reinvestment Act Regulations
AI Analysis
The OCC and FDIC have proposed a new CRA rulemaking that would refocus examinations on lending, tighten how grants and donations qualify for CRA credit, and raise asset-size thresholds that determine bank category and reporting burden. It is a consultation, not a final rule, but it signals a significant shift in CRA compliance priorities and documentation expectations for banks, especially community banks and large institutions making community development grants.
Key dates
- 2026-08-12
- Federal Register publication of the proposed rule at 91 FR 52114
- 2026-10-13 Deadline
- Comments due on the proposed rule
Suggested considerations
- Compliance teams may wish to map the proposed changes against current CRA policies, exam procedures, public file practices, and community development grant approval workflows.
- Institutions may wish to assess how the proposed asset-size thresholds would change their CRA category and associated data collection, reporting, and evaluation obligations.
- Banks making grants or donations may wish to review documentation standards for recipient use of funds, overhead limits, and evidentiary support needed for CRA consideration.
- Community development and CRA governance teams may wish to identify which activities would still qualify under the revised CD definitions and performance tests.
- Legal and regulatory affairs functions may wish to prepare comments on the proposed lending focus, grant criteria, sunshine requirements, and technical changes to OCC public welfare and corporate activity rules.
- Banks subject to CRA-related agreements may wish to verify whether the proposed technical amendments would affect disclosure timing, content, or filing processes.
What changed
['The proposal would amend the OCC and FDIC Community Reinvestment Act rules to make substantive, technical, and process-oriented changes aimed at refocusing the statutory objective on meeting community credit needs and reducing burden, particularly for community banks.', 'The agencies propose to better ensure that community development grants reach intended communities and to provide greater clarity on how to obtain CRA consideration for activities.', 'The OCC and FDIC also propose technical changes to their CRA sunshine rules under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which govern disclosure of CRA-related agreements.', 'The OCC separately proposes technical changes to its Public Welfare Investments rule and to its Rules, Policies, and Procedures for Corporate Activities.', 'The proposal a
Compliance impact
The proposal is potentially high impact because it would alter how banks are assessed under CRA, especially by shifting emphasis toward lending and changing eligibility and documentation rules for community development credit. The agencies describe the changes as reducing unnecessary burden and improving clarity, but they also signal tighter accountability for grants and donations and different su
Who is affected
Related regulations
References
AI-generated analysis. May contain errors or omissions — verify with the original OCC source before acting. Full disclaimer.
What the OCC said
Notice of proposed rulemaking. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are proposing to amend their Community Reinvestment Act rules by making certain substantive, technical, and process-oriented changes to refocus on the statutory objective of…
Extract from OCC . Read the full notice at the source for the authoritative text.