The federal
banking agencies today announced the availability of the list of distressed and underserved nonmetropolitan
middle-income geographies in which bank revitalization or stabilization
activities will receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration as
“community development” pursuant to the revised CRA rules issued by the agencies
on August 2, 2005. The list is
available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC)
website (www.ffiec.gov/cra).
“Distressed
nonmetropolitan middle-income” geographies are those located in counties that
meet one or more triggers that generally reflect the “distress criteria” used
by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The distress triggers are: (1) an unemployment rate of at least 1.5
times the national average; (2) a poverty rate of 20 percent or more; (3) a
population loss of 10 percent or more between the previous and most recent
decennial census, or a net migration loss of 5 percent or more over the
five-year period preceding the most recent census. The agencies will utilize annual information where possible.
“Underserved
nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies” must meet criteria for population
size, density, and dispersion that indicate that an area’s population is
sufficiently small, thin, and distant from a population center such that the
geography is likely to have difficulty in financing the fixed costs of
essential community needs. The agencies
will use as the basis for these designations the “urban influence codes”
numbered 7, 10, 11, and 12 that are maintained by the Economic Research Service
of the United States Department of Agriculture.
The Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will update the
list of distressed and underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies
annually, and will post updates on the FFIEC website by April 1 of each
year. To the extent that changes occur,
the agencies are proposing adoption of a one-year lag period, which would be in
effect for the calendar year following the date when a census tract
designated
as distressed or underserved is removed from the list. Revitalization or stabilization
activities undertaken during the lag period would still be
considered as community development activities if they meet the primary purpose
of community development.
The list of distressed and underserved nonmetropolitan
middle-income geographies can be found at http://www.ffiec.gov/cra/pdf/distressedorunderservedtracts.pdf
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Media Contacts:
Federal Reserve Susan Stawick 202-452-2955
FDIC David Barr 202-898-6992
OCC Dean DeBuck 202 874-5770