Regulators finalized a set of questions and answers Tuesday to help bankers comply with the Community Reinvestment Act.
The release from the four banking and thrift agencies encourages bankers to participate in foreclosure prevention efforts that are considered sustainable and aligned with efforts to prevent homeowners from losing their primary residence.
Regulators also offered guidelines for investing in nationwide community development funds. In determining whether such investments will count toward CRA compliance, "the agencies will consider whether the purpose, mandate, or function of the fund includes serving geographies or individuals located within the institution's assessment area(s) or a broader statewide or regional area that includes the institution's assessment area(s)."
The agencies withdrew a controversial change to a question about legally binding commitments to invest in development funds and how they would be considered during a CRA compliance review.
"Examiners will continue to review both new and outstanding investments and include in the dollar amount of qualified investments the full dollar amount of any legally binding commitments recorded by the institution according to generally accepted accounting principles," regulators said.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve Board, and the Office of Thrift Supervision periodically publish material to help bankers comply with CRA rule changes.
Also Tuesday, the regulators submitted two new questions and answers for review and comment.
