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
On July 16, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the federal banking agencies) jointly published a proposed rule...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
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
Federal banking regulators are asking the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to lift a Texas court injunction barring implementation of new Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules....more
As any bank professional regulatory compliance professional knows redlining is the hottest issue today and has been since Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the “Combatting Redlining Initiative” in October 2021. Since...more
When the Supreme Court decided in favor of the plaintiff in Loper Bright Enterprises et al vs. Gina Raimondo it overruled its decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the so-called “Chevron Decision” which...more
In emails in recent months we've warned bankers about the extremely aggressive enforcement of anti-redlining policies. This is becoming more and more obvious every day as more banks get threatened with referral to the DOJ....more
The CFPB has issued a policy statement that provides an analytical framework for identifying what constitutes an abusive act or practice under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA). The new guidance published...more
On April 4, acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu provided his remarks for the second year in a row at the Just Economy Conference hosted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. He focused his remarks on...more
FDIC’s Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg recently gave remarks at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition on the FDIC’s economic inclusion strategy. ...more
Now that a Texas court has issued a temporary injunction delaying the April 1, 2024, scheduled implementation of the new CRA Rule should bankers relax and assume that the new rule’s effective date has been delayed for at...more
On March 29, a Texas federal court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (collectively, the...more
On February 5, 2024, several national and Texas banking and business trade groups (Plaintiffs) filed a lawsuit challenging the final regulations (Final Rules) implementing the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) that...more
The March 21, 2024, announcement that the prudential bank regulators have decided to postpone the scheduled April 1, “applicable” date for the Facility-based assessment areas, the new Public File section and the Public Notice...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
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
The Retail Lending Test in the new CRA will measure bank performance against “market” benchmarks (lending activity reported by other lenders) and “community” benchmarks” (community demographics). Many bankers, although not...more
Episode 70 of "Compliance 911, show" titled "2024 Regulatory Hot Topics," discusses the major regulatory challenges facing financial institutions in 2024. Hosts Len and Dean mark their 70th episode, reflecting on various...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
There has been much understandable handwringing about the new CRA and its complexity as well as the high CRA exam failure rate predicted by regulators based on the new assessment areas and the higher performance standards...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