(a) General. The OCC assesses a bank's record of helping to meet the credit needs of its assessment area(s) under a strategic plan if:

(1) The bank has submitted the plan to the OCC as provided for in this section;

(2) The OCC has approved the plan;

(3) The plan is in effect; and

(4) The bank has been operating under an approved plan for at least one year.

(b) Plan submission—

(1) Required submission. A bank must submit a strategic plan that meets the requirements of this section if the bank would otherwise be evaluated under §25.13 and does not maintain retail domestic deposits on-balance sheet; or

(2) Optional submission. A bank not covered under paragraph (b)(1) of this section may submit a strategic plan to the OCC for approval.

(c) Data reporting. The OCC's approval of a plan does not affect the bank's data collection, recordkeeping, and reporting obligations, if any, in §§25.21, 25.22, 25.25, and 25.26, unless otherwise determined in writing by the OCC. The OCC may require additional bank-specific data collection, recordkeeping, and reporting under a strategic plan, as appropriate.

(d) Plans in general—

(1) Term. A plan may have a term of no more than five years, and any multi-year plan must include annual interim measurable goals under which the OCC evaluates the bank's performance.

(2) Multiple assessment areas. A bank with more than one assessment area may prepare a single plan for all of its assessment areas or separate plans for one or more of its assessment areas.

(e) Public participation in plan development. Before submitting a plan to the OCC for approval, a bank must:

(1) Solicit public comment on the plan for at least 30 days by submitting the plan for publication on the OCC's website and by publishing notice in at least one newspaper of general circulation in each assessment area covered by the plan; and

(2) During the public comment period, make copies of the plan available for review by the public and provide copies of the plan upon request for a reasonable fee to cover copying, printing, or mailing, if applicable.

(f) Submission of plan. The bank must submit its complete plan to the OCC at least six months prior to the proposed effective date of the plan. The bank must also submit with its plan a description of any written public comments received, including how the plan was revised in light of the comments received. If the OCC determines the plan is not complete, the OCC will notify the bank specifying the information needed, designating a reasonable period of time for the bank to provide the information, and informing the bank that failure to provide the information requested will result in no further consideration being given to the plan.

(g) Plan content—

(1) Performance standards.

(i) A plan must specify measurable goals for helping to meet the credit needs of the bank's community and in each of its assessment areas, particularly the needs of low- and moderate-income census tracts and low- and moderate-income individuals and families, through qualifying activities.

(ii) A plan must address the types and volume of qualifying activities the bank will conduct. A plan may focus on one or more types of qualifying activities considering the bank's capacity and constraints, product offerings, and business strategy.

(2) Assessment area delineation. A plan must include a delineation of the bank's assessment areas(s) that meets the requirements of §25.09(a) through (d). In addition, the plan may include assessment area delineations that reflect its target geographic market as defined by the bank in its strategic plan. For a de novo bank, the assessment area delineations should include the projected location of its deposit-taking facilities, retail domestic deposit base, and lending activities.

(3) Confidential information. A bank may submit additional information to the OCC on a confidential basis, to the extent permitted by law, but the goals stated in the plan must be sufficiently specific to enable the public and the OCC to judge the merits of the plan.

(4) Satisfactory and outstanding performance standards. A plan must specify measurable goals that constitute satisfactory performance. A plan may specify measurable goals that constitute outstanding performance. If a bank submits, and the OCC approves, both satisfactory and outstanding performance goals, the OCC considers the bank eligible for an outstanding performance rating.

(h) Plan approval—

(1) Timing. The OCC will act upon a plan within 90 days after the OCC receives the complete plan and other material required under paragraph (g) of this section. If the OCC does not act within this time period, the plan will be deemed approved unless the OCC extends the review period for good cause for no more than 30 days.

(2) Public participation. In evaluating the plan's goals, the OCC considers any written public comment on the plan and any response by the bank to any written public comment on the plan.

(3) Criteria for evaluating a plan. The OCC evaluates a plan's goals by considering the extent and breadth of the qualifying activities including:

(i) Community development loans, community development investments, and community development services; and

(ii) The use of innovative, flexible, or complex qualifying activities.

(i) Plan amendment. During the term of a plan, a bank may request the OCC to approve an amendment to the plan on grounds that there has been a material change in circumstances. The OCC reserves the right to require a bank that requests an amendment to a plan to comply with the public participation process described in paragraph (e) of this section.