2019 list of CRA-eligible geographies released by banking agencies

The 2019 list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies where banks’ revitalization or stabilization activities can receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration under the “community development” definition was released Monday by federal banking regulators.

The designations continue to reflect local economic conditions, including unemployment, poverty, and population changes, the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in Monday’s announcement.

“As with past releases, the agencies apply a one-year lag period for geographies that were listed in 2018 but are no longer designated as distressed or underserved in the current release,” the regulators said. “Revitalization or stabilization activities in these geographies are eligible to receive CRA consideration under the community development definition for 12 months after publication of the current list.”

Criteria used to select the geographies can be found on the website of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) CRA page (http://www.ffiec.gov/cra). The current and previous years’ lists, along with information about the data sources used to generate those lists, can be found on the FFIEC website.

2019 List of Distressed or Underserved Nonmetropolitan Middle-Income Geographies (Effective June 1, 2019)

2019 List of Distressed or Underserved Nonmetropolitan Middle-Income Geographies Source Information and Methodology