CRA Newswire

SBA: Critical Data and Best Practices Report Released in Evaluating Federal Business Assistance Program

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration, on behalf of the Evaluating Business Technical Assistance Program working group, today released a report on “Building Smarter Data for Evaluating Business Assistance Programs – A Guide for Practitioners”. The report is authored by program practitioners, economists, statisticians, and evaluation and policy…

SBA: Competition for Organizations Providing Federal Procurement Training to Veteran Entrepreneurs Announced

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today announced the Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program (VFPETP-2017-01) funding opportunity competition.  The funding will be given to a U.S.-based organization to expand an existing program providing federal procurement entrepreneurship training to veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, while building the capacity of VOSBs and SDVOSBs…

FDIC: List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance Issued

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued its list of state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The list covers evaluation ratings that the FDIC assigned to institutions in February 2017. The CRA is a 1977 law intended to encourage insured banks and thrifts to meet local credit…

OCC: Thomas J. Curry to Step Down May 5, Keith A. Noreika to Serve as Acting Comptroller of the Currency

WASHINGTON — Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry will step down on May 5, 2017, and Keith A. Noreika will serve as Acting Comptroller of the Currency. “Serving as Comptroller of the Currency has been the highlight of my career,” said Comptroller Curry. “The Comptroller is a special job and I am proud to…

ABA: 5 Ways to Protect Your Small Business from Ransomware Attacks

National Small Business Week is April 30- May 6 ​WASHINGTON — Ransomware has become one of the fastest growing malware threats to small businesses in recent years. According to the FBI, in 2015, more than $1.6 million was lost due to ransomware attacks. The popular malware is used by cybercriminals to freeze business networks and…

ABA: Report | Farm Banks Increase Ag Lending 5% in 2016

Strong performance, asset quality and capital levels in 2016 ​WASHINGTON — Farm banks increased agricultural lending by 5.3 percent in 2016 and held $103.4 billion in farm loans at the end of the year, according to the American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank Performance Report. Asset quality remained healthy at the nation’s 1,912 farm banks…

OCC: CRA Evaluations for 18 National Banks and Federal Savings Associations Released

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released a list of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations that became public during the period of April 1, 2017 through April 30, 2017.  The list contains only national banks, federal savings associations, and insured federal branches of foreign banks that have received…

OCC: New Deputy Comptrollers in Midsize and Community Bank Supervision Announced

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced the selection of Scott Schainost to be Deputy Comptroller for Midsize Bank Supervision and Troy Thornton to be Deputy Comptroller for the OCC’s Southern District. “Scott and Troy bring more than three decades of bank supervision experience each with them to these…