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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules provided in the rule. In addition, the OCC 1 issued guidance on implementation of key provisions of the June 2020 Rule; 2 provided training and outreach for examiners, community groups, and the banking industry; and 3 instituted the CRA illustrative list and Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request Form.
To implement the June 2020 Rule between the October 1, 2020, effective date and the January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024, compliance dates, the OCC
leveraged the flexibility provided by the June 2020 Rules transition provision.32
It is the OCCs intention that the June 2020 Rule and associated guidance would continue to apply until such time as the OCC modifies the rule. A
summary of the guidance issued related to the transition provision in the June 2020 Rule includes the following:
Definitions.33
CompensationThe OCC issued guidance on the calculation of the median hourly compensation value for the banking industry for use in quantifying CD services. Effective October 1, 2020, through December 31, 2021, the median hourly compensation value is $39.03.34
PartiallyThe OCC advised that OCC-regulated banks may receive consideration in CRA evaluations that begin on or after October 1, 2020, for the full or partial value of qualifying CD
activities, as applicable, based on the qualifying activities criteria set forth in the June 2020 Rule e.g., affordable housing for LMI individuals, community support services for LMI
individuals, financial education, essential community facilities, and economic development if those activities are conducted on or after October 1, 2020. For activities conducted before October 1, 2020, the OCC explained that the 1995 Rules and Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment Q&As 35 will continue to apply and provide partial credit for the portion of mixed-income housing that provides affordable housing to LMI individuals.36
32 12

CFR 25.01c5.
CFR 25.03.
34 OCC Bulletin 20215, Community Reinvestment Act: Bank Type Determinations, Distressed and Underserved Areas, and Banking Industry Compensation Provisions of the June 2020
CRA January 29, 2021 available at https
www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2021/
bulletin-2021-5.html.
35 See Q&A ll .12h8, 81 FR 48506 July 25, 2016.
36 OCC Bulletin 202099, Community Reinvestment Act: Key Provisions of the June 2020
CRA Rule and Frequently Asked Questions November 9, 2020, available at https
www.occ.gov/news-issuances/bulletins/2020/
bulletin-2020-99.html.
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Retail lending activities and related definitions i.e., home mortgage loans, consumer loans, small loans to businesses, small loans to farms, CRAeligible businesses, and CRA-eligible farmsIn order to provide OCCregulated banks with sufficient time to update systems for data collection, recordkeeping, and reporting, the OCC
advised that examiners will conduct CRA examinations of performance under the applicable retail lending test criteria using the 1995 Rules definitions of home mortgage loan, small business loan, small farm loan, and consumer loan and the business and farm gross annual revenue threshold of $1 million or less during the transition period.
However, the OCC also provided that, at an OCC-regulated banks option, the OCC also will consider retail loans, as defined in the June 2020 Rule, as other loan data, or other lending-related activities, as applicable, if those loans are not otherwise considered under the 1995 Rules applicable lending test.37
Distressed areas and underserved areasThe June 2020 Rule expanded the definition of what were termed distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies under the 1995 Rules to include census tracts that met those definitions in MSAs and added to the definition of underserved area census tracts that did not have a branch within specified distances. On January 29, 2021
the OCC published a list of census tracts that meet the revised definitions.38
Small banks and intermediate banksThe OCC applied the asset-size thresholds in the June 2020 Rules small bank and intermediate bank definitions to determine bank type in December 2020 and communicated the revised bank types for OCC-regulated banks on January 29, 2021.39 OCC-regulated banks that transitioned from large banks under the 1995 Rules to intermediate banks under the June 2020 Rule are not required to collect data required under the 1995 Rules for calendar years 2021
forward or report data for calendar years 2022 forward.40
CD loans, CD investments, and CD
services.41 The OCC advised that during the June 2020 Rule transition period, examiners will consider all CD activities 37 Id.
38 OCC Bulletin 20215, Community Reinvestment Act: Bank Type Determinations, Distressed and Underserved Areas, and Banking Industry Compensation Provisions of the June 2020
CRA January 29, 2021.
39 Id.
40 OCC Bulletin 202099, Community Reinvestment Act: Key Provisions of the June 2020
CRA Rule and Frequently Asked Questions November 9, 2020.
41 12 CFR 25.04c.

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under the June 2020 Rule that are conducted by OCC-regulated banks on or after October 1, 2020. Further, during the transition period, examiners also will consider all CD activities defined in 12 CFR 25.12g of the 1995 Rules 42 that are conducted by OCC-regulated banks during the transition period to the extent there are gaps between the 1995
Rules CD activities and the qualifying activities criteria in the June 2020 Rule in evaluating performance under the applicable lending, investment, service, or CD test.43
Qualifying activities confirmation and illustrative list.44 As of October 1, 2020, banks and interested parties may elect to submit confirmation requests using the CRA Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request Form to determine whether an activity is consistent with the qualifying activities criteria in the June 2020 Rule.45 The OCC also published the illustrative list on www.OCC.gov to provide examples of activities that meet the qualifying activities criteria in the June 2020
Rule.46
Small and intermediate bank performance standards 47 and wholesale and limited purpose bank performance standards.48 The OCC explained that under the June 2020 Rule, the performance standards for small and intermediate banks and wholesale and limited purpose banks would apply beginning on October 1, 2020. The OCC
further explained that examiners would apply the Q&As and 1995 Rules examination procedures, as supplemented by the transition guidance issued by the OCC, to evaluate CRA activities conducted between October 1, 2020, and the effective date of new guidance or examination procedures applicable to the particular activities.49 The OCC has not issued new guidance replacing the Q&As or 42 See
12 CFR part 25, Appendix C.
Bulletin 202099, Community Reinvestment Act: Key Provisions of the June 2020
CRA Rule and Frequently Asked Questions November 9, 2020.
44 12 CFR 25.05.
45 CRA Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request Guidance and Form is available at https
www.occ.gov/topics/consumers-and-communities/
cra/qualifying-activity-confirmation-request/indexcra-qualifying-activities-confirmation-request.html.
46 The CRA Illustrative List of Qualifying Activities is available at https www.occ.gov/
topics/consumers-and-communities/cra/craillustrative-list-of-qualifying-activities.pdf.
47 12 CFR 25.14.
48 12 CFR 25.15.
49 OCC Bulletin 202099, Community Reinvestment Act: Key Provisions of the June 2020
CRA Rule and Frequently Asked Questions November 9, 2020.
43 OCC

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