Agencies Release Annual CRA Asset-Size Threshold Adjustments for Small and Intermediate Small Institutions

WASHINGTON—The federal bank regulatory agencies today announced the annual adjustment to the asset-size thresholds used to define small bank, small savings association, intermediate small bank, and intermediate small savings association under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.

The annual adjustments are required by the CRA rules. Financial institutions are evaluated under different CRA examination procedures based upon their asset-size classification. Those meeting the small and intermediate small institution asset-size thresholds are not subject to the reporting requirements applicable to large banks and savings associations.

Annual adjustments to these asset-size thresholds are based on the change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), not seasonally adjusted, for each 12-month period ending in November, with rounding to the nearest million.

As a result of the 0.42 percent decrease in the CPI-W for the period ending in November 2015, the definitions of small and intermediate small institutions for CRA examinations will change as follows:

• “Small bank” or “small savings association” means an institution that, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, had assets of less than $1.216 billion.
• “Intermediate small bank” or “intermediate small savings association” means a small institution with assets of at least $304 million as of December 31 of both of the prior two calendar years, and less than $1.216 billion as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years.

These asset-size threshold adjustments are effective January 1, 2016. The agencies will publish the adjustments in the Federal Register. In addition, the agencies will post a list of the current and historical asset-size thresholds on the website of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (http://www.ffiec.gov/cra).

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