Streamlined call reports, CDFI certification changes outlined Monday

A streamlined call report for three federal financial institution regulatory agencies will debut in late March, and changes for the procedures of certifying community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are scheduled for publication in Monday’s Federal Register.

  • Streamlined call report: The Federal Reserve Board, FDIC and OCC are moving forward with the form FFIEC 051, which the agencies describe as a streamlined version of the existing Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only (FFIEC 041). According to the joint notice, the proposed form was created by:
    1. Removing certain existing schedules and data items and replacing them with a limited number of data items in a new supplemental schedule;
    2. Eliminating certain other existing data items;
    3. Reducing the reporting frequency of certain data items.

According to the joint notice, the revised form would only be available to institutions with domestic offices only and assets of less than $1 billion (which currently file the existing form, FFIEC 041). The joint notice states that “of the nearly 6,000 insured depository institutions, approximately 5,200 would be eligible to file the proposed FFIEC 051.”

The form (which was subject to comment from Aug. 15-Oct. 14) would become effective as of March 31, according to the notice.

  • CDFI certification: Treasury is proposing a 60-day comment period on current policies and procedures to certify an organization as a CDFI.

According the Federal Register notice, the CDFI Fund is embarking on a review of its certification tests to ensure that they continue to meet the statutory and regulatory requirements and the evolving nature of an industry that has changed significantly since the CDFI Fund’s establishment in 1994.

“Since the first CDFIs were certified, the universe of certified CDFIs has grown from 196 in 1997 to over a 1,000 in number today, with over $100 billion in total assets and headquarters in all fifty states and several territories,” the notice states. “It is a goal of the CDFI Fund to foster a diversity of CDFI types, activities, and geographies, and to enable market- driven solutions to emerge in a constantly changing economic environment.”