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Federal Register Publications

FDIC Federal Register Citations



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FDIC Federal Register Citations

NORTHWEST GEORGIA BANK

Mr. Robert E. Feldman
Executive Secretary
Attention: Comments/Legal ESS
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
550 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20429

Re: RIN Number 3064-AC50: FDIC Proposed Increase in the Threshold for the Small Bank CRA Streamlined Examination

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am the Chief Executive Officer of Northwest Georgia Bank, headquartered in Ringgold, Georgia, a small town of 2,500 residents. Ringgold is located in Catoosa County, which has a total population of 53,000. The Bank has been subject to the large bank CRA exam since 1999 and currently has an asset size of $459 million.

I am writing to strongly support the FDIC's proposal to raise the threshold for the streamlined small bank CRA examination to $1 billion without regard to the size of the bank's holding company. This would greatly relieve the regulatory burden imposed on many small banks such as Northwest Georgia Bank under the current regulation, which are required to meet the standards imposed on the nation's largest $1 trillion banks. I understand that this is not an exemption from CRA and that the Bank would still be required to help meet the credit needs of its entire community and be evaluated by the Bank’s regulator. Further, the 100 years of success of Northwest Georgia Bank is due in great part to the contributions, both monetary and non-monetary, it has made to the community. The Board of Directors, management and staff do not view it just as a requirement of the CRA but as a responsibility and privilege. However, I believe that raising the threshold would lower the Bank’s current regulatory burden by countless man-hours and immeasurable costs. Over 500 hours are spent each year training personnel, collecting and maintaining the required data, and verifying the validity of the data prior to transmission, at a minimum cost of over $20,000.00. Additionally, many hours are spent each year seeking qualified investments that would benefit our community. The investments recommended by regulators during a recent exam would benefit a much larger area than the Bank’s current assessment area. I do not feel that it was the intent of Congress when CRA was enacted to require small community banks to assist in the development of communities outside their own community.

I also support the addition of a community development (CD) criterion to the small bank examination for larger community banks. It appears to be a significant improvement over the investment test. However, I urge the FDIC to adopt its original $500 million threshold for small banks without a CD criterion and only apply the new CD criterion to community banks greater than $500 million up to $1 billion. Banks under $500 million now hold about the same percent of overall industry assets as community banks under $250 million did a decade ago when the revised CRA regulations were adopted, so this adjustment in the CRA threshold is appropriate. As FDIC examiners know, it has proven extremely difficult for small banks, especially those in rural areas, to find appropriate CRA qualified investments in their communities. Many small banks have had to make regional or statewide investments that are extremely unlikely to ever benefit the banks' own communities. That was certainly not the intent of Congress when it enacted CRA. Northwest Georgia Bank has diligently sought out qualified investments that would benefit low- and moderate-income areas within the Bank’s assessment area. However, it is worth noting that there are no low- or moderate-income census tracts in Catoosa County. Further, there are no low-income census tracts and only three moderate-income census tracts in the Bank’s entire assessment area. In an effort to benefit low- and moderate-income citizens within the Bank’s area, qualified investments in the past have consisted of the purchase of county revenue bonds. These investments, of course, are considered on a pro rata basis to the population of low- and moderate-income families in the county. Therefore, the Bank does not receive 100 percent recognition for this type of investment.

I strongly oppose making the CD criterion a separate test from the bank's overall CRA evaluation. For a community bank, CD lending is not significantly different from the provision of credit to the entire community. The current small bank test considers the institution's overall lending in its community. The addition of a category of CD lending (and services to aid lending and investments as a substitute for lending) fits well within the concept of serving the whole community. A separate test would create an additional CD obligation and regulatory burden that would erode the benefit of the streamlined exam.

I strongly support the FDIC's proposal to change the definition of "community development" from only focusing on low- and moderate-income area residents to including rural residents. I think that this change in the definition will go a long way toward eliminating the current distortions in the regulation. We caution the FDIC to provide a definition of "rural" that will not be subject to misuse to favor just affluent residents of rural areas. Northwest Georgia Bank operates a full-service branch and several ATMs in rural areas within the Bank’s assessment area. However, none of the locations are low- or moderate-income census tracts. As already stated, there are no low-income census tracts and only three moderate-income census tracts within the Bank’s entire assessment area. The intent of providing these services in rural locations is to meet the needs of the entire assessment area through convenient access to products and services. A change in the definition of “community development” to include rural residents would more accurately define the Bank’s record of helping to meet the needs of the entire assessment area.

In conclusion, I believe that the FDIC has proposed a major improvement in the CRA regulations, one that much more closely aligns the regulations with the Community Reinvestment Act itself, and I urge the FDIC to adopt its proposal, with the recommendations above. I will be happy to discuss these issues further with you, if that would be helpful.

Sincerely,
L. Wesley Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Northwest Georgia Bank
Ringgold, Georgia

Last Updated 10/13/2004 regs@fdic.gov

Last Updated: August 4, 2024