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OCC Bulletin 2016-1 | January 7, 2016
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Chief Executive Officers of National Banks and Federal Savings Associations, All Department and Division Heads, All Examining Personnel, and Other Interested Parties
On December 29, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) published in the Federal Register revisions to its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations that became effective January 1, 2016. The revisions adjust the asset-size thresholds used to define “small bank,” “small savings association,” “intermediate small bank,” and “intermediate small savings association.” The rulemaking adjusts the threshold amount based on the annual percentage change in a measure of the consumer price index. The rulemaking also deletes obsolete references to the Office of Thrift Supervision and its former CRA rule and revises cross-references in the rule to reflect transfers of certain authority from the Federal Reserve Board to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
National banks and savings associations with assets between $304 million and $305 million as of December 31, 2014, and December 31, 2015, or between $1.216 billion and $1.221 billion as of either of those dates, should review the revisions to asset thresholds described in this bulletin to determine whether their CRA performance evaluation criteria have changed.
Beginning January 1, 2016, a national bank or savings association that, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, had assets of less than $1.216 billion is a “small bank” or “small savings association.” A small bank or small savings association 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 is an “intermediate small bank” or “intermediate small savings association.”
Financial institutions are evaluated under different CRA examination procedures based on their asset-size classification. Those institutions meeting the small and intermediate small asset-size threshold are not subject to the reporting requirements applicable to large national banks and savings associations.
For calendar year 2015, the OCC’s CRA regulations defined a national bank as a “small bank” and a savings association as a “small savings association” if, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, the institution had assets of less than $1.221 billion. A small bank or small savings association with assets of at least $305 million as of December 31 of both of the prior two calendar years and less than $1.221 billion as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years was an “intermediate small bank” or “intermediate small savings association” (12 CFR 25.12(u)(1), 12 CFR 195.12(u)(1)). The regulations provide that the OCC will publish annual adjustments to these dollar figures based on the year-to-year 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 (12 CFR 25.12(u)(2), 12 CFR 195.12(u)(2)).
During the period ending November 2015, the CPI-W decreased by 0.42 percent. As a result, the OCC has revised the dollar thresholds detailed in 12 CFR 25.12(u)(1) and 12 CFR 195.12(u)(1) to reflect the decreased CPI-W. Beginning January 1, 2016, a national bank or savings association that, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, had assets of less than $1.216 billion is a “small bank” or “small savings association.” A small bank or small savings association 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 is an “intermediate small bank” or “intermediate small savings association.”
For further information about how these revised asset-size thresholds are applied, see the CRA page on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Website.
Please contact Margaret Hesse, Senior Counsel, Community and Consumer Law, at (202) 649-6350; Priscilla Benner, Attorney, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, at (202) 649-5490; or Bobbie Kennedy, Bank Examiner, Compliance Policy Division, at (202) 649-5470.
Amy S. Friend Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel
