DSNews The homepage of the servicing industry
Federal bank regulatory agencies have announced the newly-adjusted asset-size thresholds that will be used to define financial institutions under Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.
According to a press release from the Federal Reserve Board, the CRA requires the thresholds to be adjusted annually in order to define institutions as either small banks, small savings associations, intermediate small banks, or intermediate small savings associations for CRA examinations. These asset-size classifications determine how institutions are evaluated under different CRA examination procedures, and determine whether or not financial institutions are subject to certain reporting requirements; those that are classified small or intermediate small are not subject to the same reporting requirements as large financial institutions.
The average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers determines the annual adjustments to the asset-size thresholds. The CPI index increased by 1.60 percent for the period ending in November 2014, providing the following definitions of small and intermediate institutions:
Institutions that had assets of less than $1.221 billion as of December 31 for each of the prior two calendar years were designated as "small banks" or "small savings associations." Small institutions with assets of at least $305 million as of December 31 for each of the two prior calendar years and less than $1.221 billion as of December 31 for either of the two prior calendar years are defined as "intermediate small banks" or "intermediate small savings associations," according to the press release.
The agencies will publish the asset-size adjustments in the Federal Register and also post a list of current and historical asset-size thresholds on the Federal Finance Institutions Examination Council's website. The adjustments will be effective as of January 1, 2015.
