Community Affairs

OCC's Community Affairs Department supports the OCC's mission to ensure a safe and sound banking system by helping national banks to be leaders in providing community development financing and retail services to underserved communities and consumers. Those activities include:

Providing training and technical assistance on effective strategies for community development, formation of community development corporations, community development banks, lending consortia and other partnerships, or investing in community development projects.
Conducting tailored one-on-one consultations with national banks to assist these institutions in identifying opportunities and resources to support community development finance.
Sponsoring conferences, roundtable discussions, and workshops for the exchange of information and ideas, among lenders, community groups, and government officials.
Developing publications and Web-based resources on innovative approaches banks have used to provide community development financing and retail financial services to underserved rural, urban and Native American communities:
- Community Developments Newsletter
- Community Developments Investments E-Zine
- Community Developments Insights
- Community Affairs' OCC Update
- Community Affairs Fact Sheets

The Community Affairs Department also administers the national bank community development investment authority (12 CFR Part 24 or "Part 24"). Under this authority, national banks may make investments that are designed to primarily promote the public welfare. Those investments typically support such activities as affordable housing development, equity for start-up and small business expansion, and revitalization of government-designated areas, or are qualified investments under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Many types of Part 24 investments are eligible for positive consideration during a bank's CRA examination. For more information, please visit the OCC's Community Development Investments (Part 24) web page.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created by Congress to charter national banks, to oversee a nationwide system of banking institutions, and to assure that national banks are safe and sound, competitive and profitable, and capable of serving in the best possible manner the banking needs of their customers.