We’re sure everyone reading this was eagerly awaiting April 1, when certain parts of the new CRA rule were due to go into effect. It has been a big topic of conversation, with false rumors of delays and misinterpretations. The rumors reached a point where we felt compelled to correct the public record, and we wrote an article mere weeks ago discussing how the rule was still on track for implementation in April despite the rumors. Of course, the powers that be changed their minds at the eleventh hour.
In short, the elements of the new CRA rule which were set to go into effect next week have now been delayed. Most notably, the agencies extended the applicability date of the public file and facility-based assessment area provisions from April 1, 2024, to January 1, 2026. This extension aligns these provisions with the other substantive parts of the rule.
Under the original version of the rule, banks would have needed to upload their CRA public files to their websites by April 1st, and banks deemed large would have had to include only whole counties in their assessment areas—rather than including partial counties, as they had been doing—and update these assessment areas. Now, everyone has a little more breathing room, albeit right before the original deadline. In addition, the agencies also issued technical, non-substantive amendments to the CRA final rule and related agency regulations that reference it.
As you may be aware, the CRA Final Rule has been an area of conflict, even within the regulatory agencies who proposed it. Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman, one of the most vocal regulators opposed to the CRA update, said that the fact that the agencies amended the proposal less than six months after issuing it “provide[s] more evidence of the rushed and overzealous nature of the CRA rulemaking process.” This is a highly unusual move to be sure. Sometimes, a court may issue an injunction before an effective date, but it is uncommon for the regulators themselves to do this, and especially so close to an applicability date.
The regulators are taking public comments on the amendments to the CRA rule for 45 days after publication in the Federal Register, but the interim final rule delaying these applicability dates until 2026 is set to take effect April 1, 2024. As always, if you have any additional questions about this, please reach out to us on the Hotline.