No obstacles (thus far) to agencies acting in concert on a CRA proposal, McWilliams opines

At this point in time, the chairman of the federal bank deposit insurer sees no particular impediment to her agency moving in concert with the other two federal banking regulators in an eventual proposal revising Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rules, according to her remarks Tuesday to reporters covering the agency’s second-quarter industry data release.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking last year to revise the CRA rules, but neither the Federal Reserve Board nor the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) were party to that document.

McWilliams has said previously, and she repeated that sentiment Thursday, that it’s better for all three banking regulators to move together on proposed rules where each has implementing authority (or words to that effect).

Asked by a reporter Thursday, during a press conference webcast live, about the OCC chief’s desire to see a CRA proposed rule issued by the end of September, McWiliams demurred on the matter of the timing of any proposed rule. But she did say that “right now,” she doesn’t see why all three agencies would not be able to move together on such a proposal.