CRA Nuts & Bolts - Five Steps to Pass the Exam

This webinar will focus on several simple steps to ensure a successful CRA exam outcome. Writing a dynamic CRA context report can show examiners not only that your financial institution understands the community credit needs, but that you are effectively meeting the needs in the assessment areas you serve. We will review the steps required to establish your case and demonstrate why your CRA program qualifies for a "Satisfactory" or possibly "Outstanding" rating.

The definition of “community development changed in September, 2005 to including, among other things, activities that revitalize or stabilize designated disaster areas. A financial institution's activity will be considered to revitalize or stabilize a designated disaster area if it helps to attract new, or retain existing, businesses or residents and is related to disaster recovery and examiners will consider revitalization or stabilization activities that take place within 36 months after the date of the disaster designation. Could your financial institution be eligible to receive special consideration for lending in a designated disaster area?

Covered Topics:

• Five steps for managing a CRA exam and the importance of developing a CRA strategy.
• Tips for banks that are ISB (intermediate small banks of $307 million in 2017) and the transition to CRA reporting when the large bank threshold of $1.226 billion is reached.
• Learn how to document lending activity in designated disaster areas.
• What's included in a performance context? Learn how to describe your institution, quantify the ability and capacity of the bank to meet credit needs based on financial data. Learn how to highlight the positive outcomes of your lending focus and business strategy.
• Tips to describe your assessment area including demographic and economic data resources.
• Best practices to deal with CRA-related complaints and potential fair lending issues that can threaten a successful exam.
• Definitions of Community Development Loans and Services
• Ideas for passing the Investment Test portion of the exam
• Helpful CRA compliance resources and regulatory guidance including highlights of the July 25, 2016 Frequently Asked Questions

The live versions are interactive, meaning that participants can ask questions in real time, plus are a very cost-effective form of training because 1) you receive fast, convenient learning without any out-of-office time; 2) you can invite as many colleagues as you'd like to listen in on a single phone line; 3) you incur no travel expenses; and 4) you and your colleagues are back at work immediately after the session ends!

And though with recorded versions you do lose the ability to ask questions, you gain the ability to hear the presentation numerous times and to share it with others in your office.

Handout materials and the phone number for live presentations are made available to you prior to the event via email from the presenter and from the "MyAccount" link on the menu bar. Copies of the presentations are included with recorded versions.

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