The impact of tornadoes in Tennessee on customers and operations of financial institutions in the state is the focus of a Thursday statement issued jointly by federal and state financial institution regulators, which urge institutions to meet the financial services needs of their communities.
The statement, issued by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – with the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions – urges financial institutions to:
- work constructively with borrowers in communities affected by tornadoes in the state;
- request operation of temporary facilities, where necessary, to provide more convenient availability of services to those affected by tornadoes;
- contact their primary federal and/or state regulator if they have trouble complying with publishing and other requirements for branch closings, relocations, and temporary facilities under various laws and regulations;
- discuss with their federal or state regulator difficulties the institutions may encounter meeting the agencies’ reporting requirements;
- apply for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration of community development loans, investments, or services that revitalize or stabilize federally designated disaster areas in their assessment areas or in the states or regions that include their assessment areas;
- monitor municipal securities and loans affected by the storms in the state (regulators said “appropriate monitoring and prudent efforts to stabilize such investments are encouraged”).