In somewhat of a surprise turn of events, the OCC announced on 5/18/2021 that it plans to reconsider its June 2020 CRA rule. This backstep comes for a rule that was released only by the OCC as the FDIC and Federal Reserve did not participate in this final rule and had not come to a consensus on CRA reform - meaning the OCC was planning to implement a new CRA rule on their own, rather than jointly with the other agencies. Interestingly enough, the 5/18/21 announcement comes almost one year after prior OCC Comptroller Joseph Otting - who was the primary person pushing for CRA reform - issued the final rule, and then just hours later announced that he would be stepping down from the OCC.
In their new release, the OCC explains that it plans to reconsider the June 2020 rule and states that this will “provide the OCC with the opportunity to consider additional stakeholder input, to evaluate issues and questions that have been raised, to reassess the necessary data, and to take additional regulatory action, as appropriate.”
The OCC Bulletin 2021-24 can be found here.