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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 178 / Friday, September 17, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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OCC RESCIND AND REPLACE TRANSITION CONSIDERATIONSContinued Description of the proposed provision
Proposed transition plan
Certain ISBs i.e., banks with at least $1.322 billion but not more than $2.5 billion in assets.

These ISBs would become large banks as of the effective date of any final rules. The newly classified large banks would 1 begin collecting data to be evaluated under the large bank lending, investment, and service tests on January 1, 2023, and 2 report required and optional data the following year.
Qualifying Activities
Consideration of retail lending i.e., home mortgage loans, small loans to businesses, small loans to farms, and consumer loans and CD activities i.e., CD loans, CD investments, and CD servicesincluding legally binding commitments to lend and invest and their related definitions.
Qualifying activities confirmation letters issued under the June 2020
Rule.

The proposed rules revised definitions would apply as of the effective date of any final rules. Banks would receive consideration in their CRA examinations for activities that met the qualifying activities criteria or definitions that were in effect at the time the bank conducted these activities.

Confirmation letters would be applicable while the June 2020 Rule was in effect but would not apply to activities conducted after any final rules effective date.
Affiliates
Affiliate activities conducted after the effective date of any final rules.

Banks may to elect to include affiliate activities in their CRA evaluations, subject to certain limitations. The OCC also would rescind the January 2021 interpretive letter regarding affiliate activities as of the effective date of any final rules.
Outside Assessment Area Activities
Consideration of activities conducted outside bank assessment areas.

The OCC is considering whether it should continue to provide consideration for activities that do not directly or indirectly serve a banks assessment areas or the broader statewide or regional areas that include a banks assessment areas.
CD Activity Confirmation Process and Illustrative List
CD activities confirmation process Qualifying activities illustrative list ..

The OCC is considering providing a process for qualifying activities confirmation outside of the CRA rules.
The OCC would maintain the qualifying activities illustrative list on its website as a reference for banks to determine whether activities conducted while the June 2020 Rule was in effect are eligible for CRA consideration.
Strategic Plans
Strategic plans with target market assessment areas approved under the June 2020 Rule.

The OCC would maintain any strategic plans approved by the OCC under the June 2020 Rule and would not require these banks to amend their strategic plans.
June 2020 Rule Subpart E

CRA public file content and location requirements.
CRA notice requirements

Banks would comply with the additional public file content and availability requirements no later than three months after the effective date of any final rules.
The OCC would not provide additional time for banks to comply with the CRA notice requirements.

V. Interagency Rulemaking As noted, on July 20, 2021, the Agencies announced they had initiated an interagency rulemaking, stating that they are committed to working together to jointly strengthen and modernize rules implementing the CRA. 79 The Agencies announcement stated that joint agency action will best achieve a consistent, modernized framework across all banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they do business, including LMI
neighborhoods. 80 A reinstatement of 79 See 80 See
supra note 7.
supra note 7.

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the 1995 Rules would allow for an orderly transition to future, modernized CRA rules.
VI. Regulatory Analysis A. Regulatory Flexibility Act In general, the Regulatory Flexibility Act RFA 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. requires an agency, in connection with a proposed rule, to prepare an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis describing the impact of the rule on small entities defined by the Small Business Administration for purposes of the RFA to include commercial banks and savings institutions with total assets of $600 million or less and trust
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companies with total assets of $41.5
million of less. However, under section 605b of the RFA, this analysis is not required if the agency certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and publishes its certification and a short explanatory statement in the Federal Register along with its rule.
The OCC currently supervises approximately 669 small entities, all of which may be impacted by the proposed rules. The OCC estimates the annual cost for small entities to comply with the proposed rules would be approximately $1,824 per bank $114
per hour 16 hours. In general, the
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