Agencies extend applicability date of certain provisions of their Community Reinvestment Act final rule

The federal bank regulatory agencies today jointly issued an interim final rule extending the applicability date of certain provisions of their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) final rule issued in October 2023. The agencies also requested comments on the extension.

To promote clarity and consistency, the agencies extended the applicability date of the facility-based assessment areas and public records provisions from April 1, 2024 to January 1, 2026. Therefore, banks will not have make changes to their assessment areas or public records as a result of the 2023 CRA final rule through January 1, 2026. This extension aligns these provisions with other substantive parts of the 2023 CRA final rule. which are applicable on January 1, 2026. For example, all provisions on where the banks are assessed will now apply on the same date. Comments on the extended applicability date must be received 45 days after publication of the rule in the Federal register.

In addition, the agencies also issued technical, non-substantive amendments to the CRA final rule and related agency regulations that reference it. For example, one of these technical amendments clarifies that banks do not need to make changes to their public notices until January 1, 2026.

In October 2023, the agencies finalized updates to strengthen and modernize regulations implementing the CRA to better achieve the purposes of the law. The CRA is a landmark law enacted nearly 50 years ago to encourage banks to help meet the credit needs of all of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, in a manner consistent with the sound and safe operation of banks.