More Aggressive Fair Lending and CRA Examinations Announced by Obama Administration
Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 1:37pm
January 14, 2010
"Justice Dept. Fights Bias in Lending"
The headline above published in the New York Times announced the Obama administration’s
initiation of a more aggressive enforcement of Fair Lending laws. The article announced,
Under federal civil rights laws, a lending practice is illegal if it has a disparate impact on minority borrowers, and the Obama administration is signaling that it intends to make the enforcing of fair lending laws a signature policy push in 2010.
Bank Size Threshold Lowered for 2010 CRA Exams!
Submitted by admin on Thu, 12/24/2009 - 3:22pm
On December 23, 2009 the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) published the new asset size thresholds for banks to be examined under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
For the first time since the inception of the size standards, the size limits actually decreased!
Asset size for any bank is determined by the year-end balance sheet for the two most recent calendar years. Effective for exams conducted after January 1, 2010 the size thresholds (determined by the December 31, 2008 and 2009 balance sheets) will be:
2008 CRA Assement Area Ratios Report
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 9:50am
GeoDataVision President Len Suzio announced the release of the National Community Reinvestment Act Assessment Area Ratio Report by GeoDataVision as part of its public service. “We know that the National CRA Assessment Area Ratio Report is an important tool for measuring one of the most important responsibilities for a bank under the Community Reinvestment Act,” said Suzio. The Community Reinvestment Act imposes on banks the requirement to lend the majority of their loans within the markets they have designated as their “assessment areas” under the Regulation. The “Assessment Area Ratio” is a specific test used by bank examiners to determine if a bank is meeting this fundamental responsibility under the Regulation.
2008 NATIONAL CRA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING REPORT
Submitted by admin on Wed, 09/16/2009 - 8:39am
GeoDataVision President Len Suzio announced the release of the National Community Development Lending Report by GeoDataVision as part of its public service. “We believe the National Community Lending Report is invaluable for understanding community needs and evaluating bank performance under the Community Reinvestment Act,” said Suzio.
Free recorded webinar "How to prepare for your CRA exam".
Submitted by admin on Sun, 07/19/2009 - 11:10pm
On June 25th, GeoDataVision's president Len Suzio held a free 1 hour webinar for the banking community. He is now offering the recording to all registered GeoDatavision.com users.
Register today and view the video instantly.
2009 Census tract reference books
Submitted by admin on Sun, 07/19/2009 - 12:53pm
Today GeoDataVision President Len Suzio announced the release of the 2009 Census Tract Reference Books for each state. The Census Tract Reference Books are unique in that they are organized by county and town in each state and they display not only the income classification of each census tract, but the 2009 HUD EMFI and the maximum income for a borrower to qualify as a moderate-income person. The tract reference books are available for free as a public service from GeoDataVision.
CRA changes in the Treasury's plan
Submitted by admin on Tue, 06/23/2009 - 2:47pm
The recently released Treasury plan for regulatory reform includes some potentially significant CRA changes including more aggressive enforcement and a new Agency to evaluate banks' CRA performance:
The appropriate response to the crisis is not to weaken the CRA; it is rather to promote robust application of the CRA so that low-income households and communities have access to responsible financial services that truly meet their needs. To that end, we propose that the CFPA should have sole authority to evaluate institutions under the CRA.
Change in Call Report, with major implications for Community Reinvestment Act.
Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 2:17pm
A change in the Call Report announced by the FDIC effective April 1, 2009 has potential major implications under the Community Reinvestment Act. The change pertains to Loans Secured By Real Estate
and can be found at A58-a in the Call Report Glossary. The revision now employs a formula to determine if a loan is wholly or substantially secured by a lien or liens on real property.
The formula states:
Minority and High Rate Mortgage Lending Report
Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 10:52amGeoDataVision has compiled and released a special report on the Connecticut Mortgage Market: Minority and High Rate Mortgage lending. The Report contains a suite of tables and reports with detailed information extracted from the 2007 HMDA LAR for the state of Connecticut.
2009 Housing and Urban Development Estimated Median Family Income Reference Tables
Submitted by admin on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 10:14amGeoDataVision President Len Suzio announced today the release of the 2009 HUD Estimated Median Family Income Reference Tables by GeoDataVision to be used by bankers for Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and Community Reinvestment Act applications. The HUD EMFI is required in order to calculate the income classification of mortgage borrowers under HMDA. This information is indispensable for professional analysis of CRA performance under the critical Borrower Characteristics test, said Suzio.
