OCC Grants Clean Bill of Health to 13 Banks in Latest Community Lending Audit

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently rated 13 banks for their compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The OCC designated three banks as "outstanding" and 10 as "satisfactory" in its latest audit. No banks received the "needs to improve" or "substantial noncompliance" ratings from the regulator in September.

The CRA, enacted in 1977, aims to address discriminatory lending in minority communities by evaluating a bank's efforts to meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The three banks rated "outstanding" included First Federal Bank of Louisiana, First National Bank at St. James, and MidCountry Bank.

The 10 banks rated "satisfactory" encompass Axos Bank, Constitution Bank, GN Bank, Ameriprise Bank, Beauregard FSB, Ameriprise Bank, First United National Bank, First National Bank of Fort Stockton, The First National Bank of Tom Bean, and CCFBank National Association. The OCC assessed each bank's CRA rating based on performance tests and standards, using information about the institution and the community it serves.

The Federal Reserve Board oversees CRA ratings for national banks, federal savings associations, and insured federal branches of foreign banks, while the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) handles ratings for state-chartered banks not affiliated with the Federal Reserve System.