Community Affairs

Welcome to Community Affairs - the OCC's community development resource for national banks, government agencies, and community organizations. See more...

What's New in Community Affairs

• School-Based Bank Savings Programs: Bringing Financial Education to Students (April 2009) (PDF 333KB)
  Banks establish school-based bank savings programs as financial education initiatives to help students learn about the importance of saving and other money management topics. This edition of Community Developments Insights discusses how school-based bank savings programs operate.



• Reaching New Bank Customers Through the Earned Income Tax Credit (PDF 1.9MB)
  This publication highlights efforts of national banks and other financial institutions-along with their nonprofit and government partners-to help promote the use of EITCs in their communities.



• Cultivating Community-based Financial Literacy Initiatives (Spring 2009)
  This edition of Community Developments Investments highlights roles that banks can play in promoting financial stability through local partnership efforts. Its articles describe four programs that help banks and their community partners reach out to consumers to encourage better money management through savings and checking products.



• Financial Literacy Update - March/April 2009 (PDF)
  The OCC's third Financial Literacy Update has been released. These periodic updates contain information about upcoming financial literacy events, new initiatives of the OCC and other organizations in the financial literacy field, and listings of financial literacy and consumer financial education resources.



• OCC Deputy Comptroller for Community Affairs Addresses the United States Commission on Civil Rights
  Deputy Comptroller for Community Affairs Barry R. Wides provided a statement (PDF) at the public briefing of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The briefing focused on Community Reinvestment Act-related lending in relation to subprime mortgage originations.
  
  
• Property Disposition: Exploring Different Approaches for Preserving Affordable Housing Opportunities (PDF 374 KB)



• OCC Update for November - December 2008 (PDF)



• Mortgage Banking Magazine recently spoke with Barry Wides, OCC's Deputy Comptroller for Community Affairs, about the Community Affairs Department's mission and how it is helping to respond to current conditions in the mortgage market. Read the article and interview here. (PDF 4MB)



• Neighborhood Stabilization - The OCC recently launched this Web page which contains a range of resources for bankers and consumers related to homeownership preservation and stabilizing neighborhoods affected by foreclosures.



• OCC Bulletin Revising Part 24 Investment Authority (OCC 2008-22)

Upcoming Events

• Interagency Workshop for New CRA Officers - (Louisville, Kentucky May 12, 2009)
  The FDIC, OCC, OTS, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis are co-sponsoring a CRA workshop for bankers in Louisville, Kentucky on May 12, 2009. At the event, regulators will provide an overview of the CRA regulation, help banks understand CRA performance context, explain how to assess community needs, and provide information about identifying qualified community development activities. For more information or to register click here.



• Nebraska CRA Officers Roundtable - (Lincoln, Nebraska May 13, 2009)
  The OCC, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and the FDIC are co-sponsoring a forum for CRA Officers on May 13, 2009, in Lincoln, Nebraska. At the forum, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will provide an update on the Nebraska economy. In addition, Community Development Resources, a community development financial institution, will provide information about community development lending and investment opportunities in Lincoln. The FDIC, OCC, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will also conduct a regulatory question and answer session. For more information or to register click here.



• Interagency Workshop for New CRA Officers - (Columbus, OH May 20, 2009)
  The FDIC, OCC, OTS, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Ohio Bankers League are co-sponsoring a workshop for bankers Columbus, OH. The event will provide a regulatory overview and CRA information about a bank's performance context, assessing community needs, finding qualified community development activities and assessing a bank's overall CRA performance. Case studies and class exercises will be utilized at the event. For more information or to register click here (PDF).



• The New Community Development Lending Environment - (Houston, Texas June 10, 2009)
  On the June 10, 2009, the OCC, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and the Texas Mezzanine Fund will be co-sponsoring a seminar which will review the rapidly changing economic environment and look at ways that banks can maintain lending and remain responsive to the growing community development finance needs in their communities. Nancy Wentzler, OCC's Deputy Comptroller for Global Banking and Financial Analysis will be a featured speaker. Click here to register.

Recently Released Publications

	School-Based Bank Savings Programs: Bringing Financial Education to Students (April 2009) (NR 2009-45) Banks establish school-based bank savings programs as financial education initiatives to help students learn about the importance of saving and other money management topics. This edition of Community Developments Insights discusses how school-based bank savings programs operate.
	Cultivating Community-based Financial Literacy Initiatives (Spring 2009) (NR 2009-41) This edition of Community Developments Investments highlights roles that banks can play in promoting financial stability through local partnership efforts. Its articles describe four programs that help banks and their community partners reach out to consumers to encourage better money management through savings and checking products.
	Property Disposition: Exploring Different Approaches for Preserving Affordable Housing Opportunities (NR 2009-20) This edition of Community Developments Insights highlights partnerships for banks working to dispose of foreclosed properties in creative ways that preserve affordable housing opportunities and stabilize communities. This report reviews initiatives and strategies for building partnerships among banks or mortgage servicers and nonprofit organizations, for-profit affordable housing developers, government entities, and others that are implementing plans to create affordable rental or homeownership opportunities and revitalize areas affected by foreclosed properties.
	Historic Tax Credits: Bringing New Life to Older Communities (NR 2008-140) This edition of Community Developments Insights describes the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program with a particular focus on topics of interest to bankers new to the product. The report examines the primary risks and regulatory considerations associated with financing HTC projects as well as how HTC would be considered in a bank's Community Reinvestment Act examination. Also discussed is how national banks may utilize these credits under the "Part 24" public welfare investment authority, which the Housing and Economic Recovery Act recently expanded to include a broader range of communities targeted for revitalization, FEMA-designated disaster areas, and rural underserved and distressed communities.
	Gulf Coast Redevelopment: Pathways to Recovery [PDF] (NR 2008-130) The Fall 2008 edition of the Community Development Newsletter features an overview of how banks, for-profit and nonprofit businesses and state and local government agencies have responded to the damage inflicted on the gulf coast region by the 2005 hurricane season. It includes the specific activities of selected national banks and their partners, and offers opportunities for others interested in supporting the continuing recovery effort. It also highlights recent legislative and regulatory changes that facilitate national bank investments in this and other recovery efforts from federally declared disasters.
	Multibank CDCs: Pooling Resources to Strengthen Communities [PDF] (NR 2008-109) The Fall 2008 edition of the Community Developments Investments focuses on multibank community development corporations (MBCDC) and features guidance for establishing a MBCDC, describes three existing MBCDCs, and describes how MBCDCs use gap financing to complement bank loans.
	The SBA's 7(a) Loan Program: A Flexible Tool for Commercial Lenders (PDF 311KB ) NR 2008-108 This edition of Community Developments Insights examines the primary bank risks, benefits, and regulatory considerations associated with the Small Business Administration's 7(a) Loan Program. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the program for lenders that may be considering expanding their product line with 7(a) loans. It also highlights how banks can use the 7(a) program to develop new business, mitigate risk, enhance profitability, improve liquidity management, and meet certain regulatory requirements.
	Preservation of Affordable Multifamily Housing (NR 2008-51) Preservation of Affordable Multifamily Housing (Spring 2008) features an overview of the challenges facing the nation's affordable multifamily rental housing inventory and describes how a variety of public, private, and nonprofit initiatives have addressed these challenges. This issue also highlights the specific activities and investments of selected national banks, nonprofit organizations, and state and local government agencies in supporting the preservation of affordable multifamily rental housing.
	Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: Affordable Housing Investment Opportunities for Banks (NR 2008-10) This edition of Community Developments Insights describes how LIHTCs are used to develop affordable rental housing and how banks can benefit from investing in LIHTC-financed projects. It describes the two approaches for investing in LIHTCs - direct investments in individual affordable housing projects and fund investments that have multiple projects managed by third parties. The report outlines risks and regulatory considerations of LIHTC investments and describes how these investments would be considered under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).