2024 CRA Asset-Size Threshold Update

Agencies Announce Updated Asset-Size Thresholds for Community Reinvestment Act Regulations

The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have announced the revised asset thresholds for the year 2024, which categorize "small bank" and "intermediate small bank" under the existing Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.

The CRA regulations provide a structure and set of criteria for evaluating how well financial institutions serve the credit needs of their communities, including those in low- and moderate-income areas, while maintaining safe and sound banking practices. The categorization of a financial institution, based on its asset size, determines the specific CRA examination procedures it undergoes. These asset-size thresholds are adjusted annually, reflecting changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), a key indicator of inflation.

Following a 4.06 percent increase in the CPI-W for the period ending November 2023, the definitions for small and intermediate small banks for CRA evaluations have been updated:

• A "small bank" is now defined as an institution that had assets of less than $1.564 billion on December 31 of either of the last two calendar years.

• An "intermediate small bank" is a small bank with assets of at least $391 million on December 31 of both of the last two calendar years but less than $1.564 billion on December 31 of either of the last two years.

These updated asset-size thresholds are effective from January 1, 2024.  It should be noted that the asset-size thresholds established in the agencies' joint final rule from October 2023, aimed at strengthening and modernizing CRA regulations, will be implemented from January 1, 2026, and are not included in today's announcement.





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