Democrats on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, joined by other senators, urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to withdraw proposed changes to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules. Their letter argues that the proposal would weaken oversight and reduce bank lending and investment in affordable housing and community development, countering the objectives of the recently passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The proposal would raise the asset threshold for classification as a large bank from about USD 1.65 billion to USD 10 billion. According to the senators, this would remove more than 1,500 banks, or 36% of U.S. banks, from the CRA’s more rigorous examination, data reporting and community development requirements. They cited more than USD 430 billion in CRA-related lending and investment in low- and moderate-income communities in 2024 and asked the agencies to answer questions about the proposal by Oct. 22, 2026.
Democrats on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs urge OCC and FDIC to withdraw Community Reinvestment Act proposal
Senate Banking Committee Democrats and other senators urged the OCC and FDIC to withdraw proposed changes to Community Reinvestment Act rules. They said raising the large-bank threshold from about USD 1.65 billion to USD 10 billion would remove more than 1,500 banks from stricter examination, reporting and community development requirements, potentially reducing investment in affordable housing and low- and moderate-income communities.