(a) Information available to the public. A bank or savings association shall maintain a public file that includes the following information:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(1) All written comments received from the public for the current year and each of the prior two calendar years that specifically relate to the bank’s or savings association’s performance in helping to meet community credit needs, and any response to the comments by the bank or savings association, if neither the comments nor the responses contain statements that reflect adversely on the good name or reputation of any persons other than the bank or savings association or publication of which would violate specific provisions of law;

(2) A copy of the public section of the bank’s or savings association’s most recent CRA Performance Evaluation prepared by the appropriate Federal banking agency. The bank or savings association shall place this copy in the public file within 30 business days after its receipt from the appropriate Federal banking agency;

(3) A list of the bank’s or savings association’s branches, their street addresses, and geographies;

(4) A list of branches opened or closed by the bank or savings association during the current year and each of the prior two calendar years, their street addresses, and geographies;

(5) A list of services (including hours of operation, available loan and deposit products, and transaction fees) generally offered at the bank’s or savings association’s branches and descriptions of material differences in the availability or cost of services at particular branches, if any. At its option, a bank or savings association may include information regarding the availability of alternative systems for delivering retail banking services (e.g., ATMs, ATMs not owned or operated by or exclusively for the bank or savings association, banking by telephone or computer, loan production offices, and bank-at-work or bank-by-mail programs);

(6) A map of each assessment area showing the boundaries of the area and identifying the geographies contained within the area, either on the map or in a separate list; and

(7) Any other information the bank or savings association chooses.

(b) Additional information available to the public—(1) Banks and savings associations other than small banks or savings associations. A bank or savings association, except a small bank or savings association or a bank or savings association that was a small bank or savings association during the prior calendar year, shall include in its public file the following information pertaining to the bank or savings association and its affiliates, if applicable, for each of the prior two calendar years:

(i) If the bank or savings association has elected to have one or more categories of its consumer loans considered under the lending test, for each of these categories, the number and amount of loans:

(A) To low-, moderate-, middle-, and upper-income individuals;

(B) Located in low-, moderate-, middle-, and upper-income census tracts; and

(C) Located inside the bank’s or savings association’s assessment area(s) and outside the bank’s or savings association’s assessment area(s); and

(ii) The bank’s or savings association’s CRA Disclosure Statement. The bank or savings association shall place the statement in the public file within three business days of its receipt from the appropriate Federal banking agency.

(2) Banks and savings associations required to report Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. A bank or savings association required to report home mortgage loan data pursuant part 1003 of this title shall include in its public file a written notice that the institution’s HMDA Disclosure Statement may be obtained on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (Bureau’s) website at www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda. In addition, a bank or savings association that elected to have the appropriate Federal banking agency consider the mortgage lending of an affiliate shall include in its public file the name of the affiliate and a written notice that the affiliate’s HMDA Disclosure Statement may be obtained at the Bureau’s website. The bank or savings association shall place the written notice(s) in the public file within three business days after receiving notification from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council of the availability of the disclosure statement(s).

(3) Small banks and savings associations. A small bank or savings association or a bank or savings association that was a small bank or savings association during the prior calendar year shall include in its public file:

(i) The bank’s or savings association’s loan-to-deposit ratio for each quarter of the prior calendar year and, at its option, additional data on its loan-to-deposit ratio; and

(ii) The information required for other banks or savings associations by paragraph (b)(1) of this section, if the bank or savings association has elected to be evaluated under the lending, investment, and service tests.

(4) Banks and savings associations with strategic plans. A bank or savings association that has been approved to be assessed under a strategic plan shall include in its public file a copy of that plan. A bank or savings association need not include information submitted to the appropriate Federal banking agency on a confidential basis in conjunction with the plan.

(5) Banks and savings associations with less than satisfactory ratings. A bank or savings association that received a less than satisfactory rating during its most recent examination shall include in its public file a description of its current efforts to improve its performance in helping to meet the credit needs of its entire community. The bank or savings association shall update the description quarterly.

(c) Location of public information. A bank or savings association shall make available to the public for inspection upon request and at no cost the information required in this section as follows:

(1) At the main office and, if an interstate bank or savings association, at one branch office in each state, all information in the public file; and

(2) At each branch:

(i) A copy of the public section of the bank’s or savings association’s most recent CRA Performance Evaluation and a list of services provided by the branch; and

(ii) Within five calendar days of the request, all the information in the public file relating to the assessment area in which the branch is located.

(d) Copies. Upon request, a bank or savings association shall provide copies, either on paper or in another form acceptable to the person making the request, of the information in its public file. The bank or savings association may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed the cost of copying and mailing (if applicable).

(e) Updating. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a bank or savings association shall ensure that the information required by this section is current as of April 1 of each year.