Three banks earned ‘outstanding’ CRA ratings in May; one ‘needs improvement’

Three banks that earned ratings of “outstanding,” and one a rating of “needs improvement,” were among the 64 institutions rated for compliance with anti-redlining laws in May, the federal insurer of bank deposits said Tuesday.

According to the now-public evaluations released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), the three banks earning “outstanding” compliance ratings with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) were: Union Bank of Morrisville, Vt.; American Riviera Bank of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Optum Bank of Salt Lake City.

The only bank to receive a rating of “needs improvement” with its CRA compliance was Frontier State Bank of Oklahoma City.

The CRA compliance for the remaining 60 banks whose May evaluations are now public was rated “satisfactory.”

There are four ratings a financial institution may receive from the FDIC as a result of its CRA compliance evaluation: outstanding, satisfactory, needs improvement and substantial non-compliance.

So far, in evaluations released in 2020, two banks have received the lowest rating (substantial non-compliance), 39 have received “needs to improve,” and another 39 have received “outstanding” ratings. A rating of “satisfactory” was given to 500 banks.

For all of 2019, the FDIC awarded: 55 “outstanding” ratings; 16 “needs to improve” ratings; 500 “satisfactory” ratings; and no “substantial non-compliance” ratings.

FDIC Issues List of Banks Examined for CRA Compliance