2023 CRA Rule Repeal: Lessons to be Learned
The fatal flaws in the 2023 CRA rule
Predictions regarding the 2023 CRA Rule and Section 1071 and how to prepare for expected developments
How to estimate how your performance will look under the new CRA
2024 Regulatory Hot Topics
The Coming Perfect Storm
The Importance of Assessment Areas
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Community Reinvestment Act Reform: A Close Look at the Final Rule
Keeping up with all the new regulations
What’s behind the increase in CRA Exam failures?
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA): Recap and What to Expect in 2014
Bank regulators have announced their intention to repeal the 2023 CRA Rule. But it would be a mistake to stop there. For more than a decade there’s been a clamoring to “modernize” the CRA regulations. If the Administration...more
For those considering state government jobs after college or graduate school, certain opportunities often come with the informal – but widely known – warning: this can be a hard job during the state’s biennial budget drafting...more
Ever since the 1995 CRA rule was published bank regulators have mandated certain “community” and “market” benchmarks as the basis for rating bank performance under the CRA regulations. Most of that data is in the public...more
The podcast discusses how the 2023 CRA rule's numerical benchmarks remain valuable for bankers despite the rule's likely repeal....more
Now that the Trump Administration has announced its intention to repeal the 2023 CRA rule many bankers are way too eager to move on and forget about the soon-to-be-repealed rule. It was unbelievably complex, confusing and...more
In January 2025, the new Trump administration issued Executive Order 14173, which ordered all executive departments and agencies to, among other things, end federal “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs and to use...more
In Podcast 95, Len and Dean argue that the 2023 CRA rule is flawed and confusing, urging its repeal and calling for reforms that truly support community development....more
This second installment in a series of insights on bank charter considerations describes the consequences of operating through an insured depository institution charter, including capital requirements, supervision and...more
Dear Banker, Many bankers are easily confused by the technical requirements for loans in "disaster areas'' to be potentially qualified for community development credit under CRA. This brief article explains how to avoid...more
In the previous articles of this 4-part series, I identified and explained three types of fatal flaws in the 2023 CRA rule and I presented 5 suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the legacy CRA rule. In this article I...more
In the first 3 articles in this series (1, 2, 3), we identified fatal flaws in the 2023 CRA rule. In Parts 4a – 4c we propose the regulators consider potential improvements to the rule when they publish the Notice of Proposed...more
In the previous 3 articles of this 4-part series I identified and explained three types of fatal flaws in the 2023 CRA rule: 1. The unreliable and sometimes misleading performance ratings based on unrealistic assessment...more
What Happened? The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), (collectively, “federal...more
Len & Dean examine how the 2023 CRA rule and Section 1071 could impose unrealistic standards on banks through rigid assessment areas, urging the industry to engage in the rulemaking process and prepare for regulatory changes...more
As federal agencies pull back on consumer protection regulations under the Trump administration, California is stepping up to fill the void. This shift was forecasted in January, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...more
In light of ongoing litigation and the Trump administration’s new policy approach, federal banking agencies intend to rescind the 2023 CRA final rule and revert to pre-2023 standards....more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week....more
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC"), Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) (collectively, “the Agencies”) announced, that they intend to issue a proposal to...more
On March 28, the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC jointly announced plans to rescind 2023 revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The agencies stated they would return to the previous regulatory framework...more
On March 28, the FDIC, the Fed, and the OCC announced their intention to issue a proposal to rescind the CRA final rule that was issued in October 2023 (covered by InfoBytes here). According to the prudential regulators, this...more
When the new CRA rule was published in late 2023 it contained some very serious flaws that need to be corrected. In fact, some of those flaws are so bad that they left the Trump Administration with only 2 choices,...more
On March 28, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (together, the federal banking agencies) announced their intent to rescind the...more
Yesterday, as I was writing this article the news broke about the regulators deciding they intend to rescind the 2023 CRA rule. My first reaction was to toss this article in the “trash” folder. But upon further reflection I...more
The federal banking agencies have announced their intent to issue a proposal to rescind the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) final rule originally issued in October 2023. In their announcement on March 28, the agencies also...more
Today, March 28, the regulators announced what many have been anticipating. The Agencies issued a press release indicating they intend to rescind the 2023 CRA rule....more