OCC

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency watered down numeric metrics that some groups blasted and allowed more institutions to opt out of the new regime. But whether the agency has won over any detractors remains to be seen.

Four federal agencies offered guidance Wednesday on how to offer products that compete against payday loans without incurring Washington's wrath. The announcement could spark the rebirth of deposit advances, which were regulated out of existence during the Obama administration.

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting’s regulation reforming the Community Reinvestment Act lacks performance metrics criticized in an earlier proposal. But neither the FDIC nor the Fed is supporting the final plan.

Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting says the revised Community Reinvestment Act will provide more credit access to communities in need and won't, as some had feared, create new thresholds for grading banks.

The final regulation will significantly revise a December proposal, responding to concerns from stakeholders. Meanwhile, in a surprising move, the regulator who had championed the reforms is expected to resign this week.

Operation HOPE Chief Executive John Hope Bryant talks about how the Community Reinvestment Act influenced him at the age of 9 and eventually led to the founding of his nonprofit, which works with banks to help communities in need. But he says the 1977 law is outdated.

The interim rule will allow institutions with over $250 billion of assets to exclude certain assets from the supplementary leverage ratio to help them respond to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Critics of the Community Reinvestment Act revamp want to freeze the rulemaking process. That would only delay financial help to New York and other hard-hit cities.

At a Senate hearing with all the bank regulators, Joseph Otting got an earful over his agency’s decision to move forward with Community Reinvestment Act reform during the pandemic. Lawmakers also urged the Fed to speed up the rollout of coronavirus relief programs.

The OCC is plowing ahead on plans to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act, but a growing consensus of industry and community voices says now is not the time for a major overhaul.