The Federal agency that provides a bank’s charter to operate will also monitor and regulate the bank’s overall performance. This Federal agency could be the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the Federal Reserve. Depending on a how a bank is structured, they may have one or more charters, which also means they may have one or more regulator.
The regulator that monitors the bank’s overall performance is also the regulator that evaluates the bank for CRA compliance. Depending on the bank’s asset size, it may be examined for CRA compliance every two to five years on average.
When an examination is completed, the regulator publishes a CRA Public Evaluation, which includes one of four CRA ratings:
- Outstanding
- Satisfactory
- Needs to Improve
- Substantial Noncompliance
The CRA Public Evaluation for any bank is available on the regulator’s website or can be requested from the bank itself.