OCC Rates 6 Banks ‘Outstanding’ and 10 ‘Satisfactory’ in CRA Compliance

Six banks were rated “outstanding” and 10 were rated “satisfactory” in the latest list of banks examined for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Among the performance evaluations that became public in October, no banks were rated “need to improve” or “substantial noncompliance,” the OCC said in a Monday (Nov. 3) press release.

“Under the CRA, the OCC assesses an institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institution,” the release said.

The CRA rules were enacted in 1977 to combat discriminatory lending practices in minority neighborhoods.

The six banks rated “outstanding” in CRA compliance in October include New York, New York-based Carver Federal Savings Bank; Lawton, Oklahoma-based FSNB, National Association; Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Investar Bank, National Association; Sandoval, Illinois-based Midwest National Bank; Draper, Utah-based Synchrony Bank; and Okawville, Illinois-based The First National Bank of Okawville.

The 10 banks rated “satisfactory” include Waco, Texas-based American Bank, National Association; Nacogdoches, Texas-based Commercial Bank of Texas, National Association; Quincy, Illinois-based First Bankers Trust Company, National Association; Belpre, Ohio-based First Mutual Bank, FSB; Hamilton, Alabama-based First National Bank; Granville, Illinois-based Granville National Bank; Columbia, Louisiana-based Homeland Federal Savings Bank; Frederick, South Dakota-based The First National Bank of Frederick; Jacksboro, Texas-based The Jacksboro National Bank; and Indianapolis, Indiana-based The National Bank of Indianapolis.

The OCC determined the CRA rating based on performance tests and standards outlined in the CRA rule and based on information about the institution and the community it serves, according to a questions and answers page about the program.

The OCC’s list includes national banks, federal savings associations and insured federal branches of foreign banks, per the Monday press release.

Two other banking regulators oversee and provide CRA ratings and performance evaluations for other types of banks. The Federal Reserve Board does so for state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. does so for state-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System.

The FDIC released a list Monday covering the CRA evaluation ratings it assigned to state nonmember banks in August. The FDIC examined 60 institutions and assigned four “outstanding” ratings and 56 “satisfactory ratings.”