Testing

There seems to be some contradiction in the Final Rule regarding the effective date of the Public Notice, aka the "Lobby Notice." The preamble states that Appendices A through F are effective 1/1/2026. Since the new notice is in Appendix F, this makes it seem like that part wouldn't be effective until 1/1/2026. However, 12 CFR _.44 is what actually establishes the notice requirement and that is not mentioned in the sections that are effective later than 4/1/2024. To further support the opinion that the updated lobby notice is effective 4/1/2024, the OCC states that determination in their CRA Summary:

"The April 1, 2024, effective date is applicable to provisions of the final rule that are similar to the current CRA regulations: facility-based assessment area delineations, effect of CRA on applications, public file, bank public notice, and CRA examination schedule public notice provisions, as well as the new public engagement provision."

https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2023/bulletin-2023-32.html

What's y'all's take on the effective date for the Lobby Notice?

I take is that we will have ours on our website by April 1st. Better safe than sorry.

The agencies, in their webinar about the new rule broadcast in early January, announced a "clarification" that banks will not be required to post the new notice until January 1, 2026. Sounds like the clarification is an admission they made a mistake in the new rule and will ignore the "applicable" April 1, 2024 date in the new rule.

Can you link that webinar and the approx. minute mark? I listened to one of them and it didn't go into any detail about the timing. It just said the substantive changes will be effective beginning 1/1/2026. And, the OCC still has in their summary on their website the 4/1/2024 date.

Nm, I found it at the very end.

Are we required to have the CRA Public Notice on our website as well?

The following information from 345.43(a) must be maintained in the Public File on the website.

1. Any written communications from the public commenting on CRA file for the current year and each of the two prior years.
2. A copy of the public section of our most recent CRA Exam.
3. A list of the bank’s branches, their street addresses and census tracts.
4. A list of branches opened or closed during the current year and each of the two prior years along with their street addresses and census tracts.
5. A list of retail banking services (including hours of operation, available loan and deposit products, and transaction fees) generally offered at the bank's branches and descriptions of material differences in the availability or cost of services at particular branches, if any.
6. A map of each facility-based assessment area and, as applicable, each retail lending assessment area showing the boundaries of the area and identifying the census tracts contained in the area, either on the map or in a separate list.
7. CRA Disclosure Statement.
8. HMDA Disclosure Statement.
9. Small banks (that’s us) are required to publish their loan-to-deposit ratio for each quarter of the prior calendar year and, at its option, additional data on its loan-to-deposit ratio.


Sample websites from a couple of large banks:

https://www.citizensbank.com/community/cra.aspx

https://www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/personal-banking/about/cra.html

Can someone express to me what the change is to the Public Notice (Lobby Notice) - Appendix F - and the CRA examination schedule public notice The CRA examination schedule verbiage is already in the Lobby Notice so I am not sure what we are to do with this.

Also, effective April 1st is the new public engagement provision. The final rule doesn't seem to say too much on this...or I am looking on the wrong page.

Thanks

Per my notes from the OCC webinar 01/10/2024: Section .44 public notice- the way the reg was written, it is applicable on 04/01/2024, BUT the speaker said do not use revised notice until Jan 1,2026. Use the existing public notice in App B of App G.
So really there was no change for this April.

I have section .46 and .46 (public engagement) marked in my notes as N/A- no action for banks. I believe this was also discussed in the OCC webinar.

There was a change to add the website option to submit comments, and also the schedule for examinations. It wasn't very much, but just enough to have you do something.

JWills, so you are saying that we have to have a spot on our website for customers to post comments about our involvement in our communities, or lack thereof, along with a listing of our regulators exam schedule?

This is all outlined in the Lobby Notice - not that anyone reads it.

No saying that the Lobby Notice adds the availability to submit comments at your regulator's website.

And the Notice used to say that the Federal Reserve Bank (at least for us), would publish a list of banks that are scheduled for CRA examination by the Reserve Bank in that quarter. Now it reads 'for the next two quarters.'

Sorry for the confusion on that.

JWills, thanks for that clarification.

It starts on page 1,371 of the monstrous document.

At least 30 days before the beginning of each calendar quarter, the Federal Reserve System
publishes a list of the banks that are scheduled for CRA examination by the Reserve Bank for the
next two quarters. This list is available from (title of responsible official), Federal Reserve Bank
of ____ (address), or through the Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov.
You may send written comments about our performance in helping to meet community credit
needs to (name and address of official at bank) and (title of responsible official), Federal Reserve
Bank of ____ (address), or through the Board’s website at https://www.federalreserve.gov. Your
letter, together with any response by us, will be considered by the Federal Reserve System in
evaluating our CRA performance and may be made public.