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
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 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
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
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
Recently, the OCC released data on small business, small farm, and community development lending during 2023, compiled by the FFIEC. The 2023 data, reported by 721 lenders, revealed a slight increase in reporting institutions...more
When the new 2023 CRA Rule was approved by regulators FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg indicated one of the goals was to “raise the bar” for CRA performance ratings. Now that the final 2023 CRA performance ratings are in it...more
Recent news stories explain the criticism of Senator Warren and Congresswoman Waters directed at banks that are litigating the 2023 CRA rule. But perhaps their frustration should be focused on the regulators who have...more
Readers of this article may think I am referring to Orcas, sometimes known as “killer whales.” But what I am referring to is the new form of Assessment Area in the 2023 CRA Rule. However, the analogy/metaphor may be...more
I’ve written articles critical of the Section 1071 Rule and the CFPB’s implementation of the new rule. For example, the scheduled “applicable dates” for data recording and reporting make no sense at all. As currently...more
FDIC’s Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg recently gave remarks at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition on the FDIC’s economic inclusion strategy. ...more
With April 1, 2024, the effective date for the new CRA rule fast approaching, every bank is asking what must we do on April 1? Here are the answers....more
There has been much understandable confusion about many aspects of the new CRA rule. But perhaps there’s been no greater confusion and anxiety than about the Assessment Areas. And this anxiety has become more acute the closer...more
In July 2023, the Office of Management & Budget published an update to “Core Based Statistical Areas, Metropolitan Divisions, and Combined Statistical Areas”. That document contains the latest definitions of Metropolitan...more
I’ve written at least a dozen articles about the dramatic impact the new CRA is going to have on banks. Until now, only about 1.2% of bank CRA examinations end with a failing grade. But, by the estimates of the regulators, if...more
Several national and Texas banking and business trade groups have filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas challenging the final regulations (Final Rules) implementing the Community...more
I have written a number of articles about the new CRA and the problems its requirements will impose on banks. But there are also problems posed by what the new Rule omits....more
One of the most important CRA responsibilities for Intermediate-Small Banks and Large Banks is "Community Development Lending". But while Community Development Lending is critically important, there is very little information...more
In Parts I and II I explained the devastating impact of the new CRA Rule and what the underlying reasons for that adverse impact are. In Part III I will touch upon what banks are most significantly impacted by the new Rule....more
This is our third blog post on the final rule issued on October 24, 2023 by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency...more
In my previous email I explained the devastating impact of the new CRA Rule on the percentage of banks receiving a less than satisfactory CRA Performance Rating. The data in Table 32 within the new Rule demonstrate that if...more
This is our second blog post on the final rule issued on October 24, 2023 by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency...more
On October 24, 2023, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule amending their regulations...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending race-based admissions at colleges and universities could have a ripple effect on unrelated fields. Our Financial Services & Products Group explores how the Harvard decision could change...more
A&B Abstract: Furthering the Justice Department’s Combating Redlining Initiative, the Department of Justice has announced another redlining settlement. But this settlement is different – this one involves a bank that has...more