OCC to Propose Rescinding Community Reinvestment Act Rule
Last month, the community development finance industry received a major victory in our years-long effort to reject the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) disastrous Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reform proposal. On July 20, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu announced the bank regulator will propose rescinding its controversial CRA rule.
The rule, finalized in June 2020, will need to be officially rescinded through a notice and public comment period, likely some time in the fall. Earlier this year, the OCC halted implementation of key provisions of the rule, including evaluation criteria, changes to assessment areas, performance standards, and data collection and reporting.
Acting Comptroller Hsu also pledged to work with the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to put forth a new joint reform proposal based on the Federal Reserve’s framework outlined in their 2020 Advance Notice of Proposed rulemaking. OFN is pleased to see the bank regulators signal a willingness to work together on a new CRA reform proposal. The timing of the new rulemaking is uncertain since the Biden Administration has yet to put forth a nominee to serve as Comptroller of the Currency.
OFN will continue to advocate for CRA regulatory framework that increases access to capital in underserved markets. For more information on OFN’s CRA advocacy, contact Dafina Williams, SVP, Public Policy at OFN.