CRA & Community Development Webinar
If you are an Intermediate-Small Bank, a growing Small Bank or a Large Bank, you should plan on attending this Webinar. Mr. Suzio is a nationally recognized expert in the Community Reinvestment Act. He has spoken at several ABA National Compliance Conferences as well as America's Community Banker's Compliance Conferences. He is frequently a guest speaker at state and regional bank meetings, and has written and published several major articles on CRA compliance.
Find out more and register Posted on: 3/22/2007
OTS Issues Final Ruling on CRA Requirements
The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced that it is publishing a final rule revising four areas of its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to reestablish uniformity between its rules and those of the other federal banking agencies.
OTS Director John Reich announced the change at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's (NCRC) annual conference. Explaining the basis for the revised rules, Reich stated, “OTS is making these revisions to promote consistency and facilitate objective evaluations of CRA performance across the banking and thrift industries. Consistent standards will allow the public to make more effective comparisons of bank and thrift CRA performance.” He noted that the changes reinforce CRA objectives consistent with thrifts' performance in meeting the financial services needs of their communities.
The OTS rule aligns with that of the other agencies by:
· eliminating the option of alternative weights for lending, investment, and service under the large, retail savings association test;
· defining institutions with assets between $250 million and $1 billion as “intermediate small savings associations” subject to a new community development test;
· indexing the asset threshold for “small” and “intermediate small” savings associations annually based on changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI); and
· clarifying the adverse impact on a savings association's CRA rating where the OTS finds evidence of discrimination or other illegal credit practices.
The new rule will be effective July 1, 2007, with rule changes applicable to examinations beginning in the third quarter of 2007. The agency noted, however, that latitude will be provided to institutions in the context of examinations conducted after the effective date in order to implement program changes under the new rule.
See Final Rule Posted on 3/22/2007
Federal Agencies Publish Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending
MBA
This proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending (Statement) discusses criteria and factors, including payment shock, that an institution should assess in determining a borrower's ability to repay a subprime loan. The Statement also discusses consumer protection issues and practices, including reminders about some of the existing statutes, regulations, and guidance intended to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and other predatory practices. Finally, the Statement discusses the need for policies, procedures, and systems to assure that institutions' subprime mortgage lending is conducted in a safe and sound manner.
See Proposed Illustrations Posted on: 3/22/2007
Wyoming Enacts Security Breach Notification and Credit Report Freeze Laws
The state of Wyoming has recently enacted a Data Security Bill, S.B.53. Similar to other legislation enacted on the state level addressing this issue, S.B. 53 obligates institutions to inform consumers of a breach if “misuse of personal identifying information ha occurred or is reasonably likely to occur.” The legislation also enables consumers to implement a “security freeze” of their credit report for a fee. “Victims of identity theft' are provided the security freeze option for no charge. The effective date is July 1, 2007.
View Source Document Posted on 3/22/2007