Fintech · Industry brief

""

On July 31, the OCC and FDIC proposed targeted revisions to Community Reinvestment Act regulations, materially revising asset thresholds, lending tests, and community development standards. The proposal significantly raises the "small bank" threshold to $1 billion or less, introduces a new "intermediate bank" category for banks with $1 billion to $10 billion in assets, and moves the large-bank threshold to $10 billion—providing substantial burden relief to approximately 636 banks currently classified as large. The framework preserves the branch-based assessment-area structure, rejects the 2023 rule's retail lending assessment areas, and excludes deposit products from the large-bank service test. Community development grants face new scrutiny requiring direct use for qualifying purposes and administrative cost limits of 15% for large banks. The Federal Reserve did not join the proposal, creating potential divergence in CRA requirements by bank charter and regulator. Comments are due October 13, 2026. (Source: JD Supra / OCC and FDIC proposal)

Federal Reserve Board issued enforcement actions on 8/20/2026 against former employees of Regions Bank and United Community Bank, and against SouthPoint Bancshares, Inc.; the Board also announced termination of enforcement action with Deutsche Bank AG and related entities. The Board approved an application by National Westminster Bank Plc on 8/20/2026. On 8/13/2026, an additional enforcement action was issued against a former employee of Regions Bank.