(a) Authority. The authority for this part is 12 U.S.C. 21, 22, 26, 27, 30, 36, 93a, 161, 215, 215a, 481, 1462a, 1463, 1464, 1814, 1816, 1828(c), 1835a, 2901 through 2907, and 3101 through 3111.

(b) Purposes. In enacting the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Congress required each appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency to assess an institution's record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income communities, consistent with the safe and sound operation of such institution, and take that record into account in its evaluation of an application for a deposit facility by such institution. This part is intended to carry out the purposes of the CRA by:

(1) Establishing the framework and criteria by which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) assesses a bank's record of helping to meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income communities, consistent with the safe and sound operation of the bank; and

(2) Providing that the OCC takes that record into account in considering certain applications.

(c) Scope—

(1) General. This part applies to all banks as defined in §25.03 except as provided in paragraphs (c)(2) and (c)(3) of this section.

(2) Federal branches and agencies.

(i) This part applies to all insured Federal branches and to any Federal branch that is uninsured that results from an acquisition described in section 5(a)(8) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3103(a)(8)).

(ii) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section, this part does not apply to Federal branches that are uninsured, limited Federal branches, or Federal agencies, as those terms are defined in part 28 of this chapter.

(3) Certain exempt banks. This part does not apply to banks that do not perform commercial or retail banking services by granting credit or offering credit-related products or services to the public in the ordinary course of business, other than as incident to their specialized operations and done on an accommodation basis. These banks include banker's banks, as defined in 12 U.S.C. 24 (Seventh), and banks that engage only in one or more of the following activities: Providing cash management-controlled disbursement services or serving as correspondent banks, trust companies, or clearing agents.

(4) Compliance dates.

(i) Banks other than small, intermediate, wholesale, and limited purpose banks must comply with §§25.07—25.13, 25.21, 25.25, and 25.26 by January 1, 2023.

(ii) Wholesale and limited purposes banks must comply with §§25.09, 25.23, 25.25, and 25.26 by January 1, 2023.

(iii) Small and intermediate banks must comply with §§25.09, 25.22, and 25.25, as applicable, by January 1, 2024.

(5) Transition provision. To provide for an orderly transition, for any CRA performance evaluation conducted on or after October 1, 2020. and before the compliance date of this part that is applicable to the bank being evaluated, the OCC may permit a bank to rely on the applicable performance standards and tests, procedures, processes, definitions or other element of:

(i) Parts 25 or 195 of this chapter, as applicable, in effect on the date prior to October 1, 2020 (as set forth in appendix C of this part); or

(ii) Part 25 set forth in this final rule.

(6) Expiration date. Parts 25 and 195 of this chapter that are in effect on the date prior to October 1, 2020 (as set forth in appendix C of this part) expire on January 1, 2024.

(d) Severability. Each section of this part is severable from the other sections of this Part. If any section or any provision of any section is held to be invalid or stayed for any reason, it is the OCC's intention that the remaining sections and provisions of this part shall continue in effect.