§ 25.43 - Content and availability of public file.

§ 25.43 Content and availability of public file.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 7168, Feb. 1, 2024.

(a) Information available to the public. A bank or savings association must maintain a public file, in either paper or digital format, that includes the following information:

(1) All written comments received from the public for the current year (updated on a quarterly basis for the prior quarter by March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31) 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 must include 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 census tracts;

(4) A list of branches opened or closed by the bank or savings association during the current year (updated on a quarterly basis for the prior quarter by March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31) and each of the prior two calendar years, their street addresses, and census tracts;

(5) A list of retail banking 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. A bank or savings association may elect to include information regarding the availability of other systems for delivering retail banking services (for example, mobile or online banking, loan production offices, and bank-at-work or mobile branch programs);

(6) A map of each facility-based assessment area and, as applicable, each retail lending assessment area showing the boundaries of the area and identifying the census tracts contained in 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 subject to data reporting requirements pursuant to § 25.42. A bank or savings association subject to data reporting requirements pursuant to § 25.42 must include in its public file a written notice that the CRA Disclosure Statement pertaining to the bank or savings association, its operating subsidiaries, and its other affiliates, if applicable, may be obtained on the FFIEC's website at: https://www.ffiec.gov. The bank or savings association must include the written notice in the public file within three business days after receiving notification from the FFIEC of the availability of the disclosure statement.

(2) Banks and savings associations required to report HMDA data —

(i) HMDA Disclosure Statement. A bank or savings association required to report home mortgage loan data pursuant to 12 CFR part 1003 must include in its public file a written notice that the bank's or savings association's HMDA Disclosure Statement may be obtained on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB's) website at: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda. In addition, if the appropriate Federal banking agency considered the home mortgage lending of a bank's or savings association's operating subsidiaries or, at a bank's or savings association's election, the appropriate Federal banking agency considered the home mortgage lending of other bank or savings association affiliates, the bank or savings association must include in its public file the names of the operating subsidiaries and the names of the affiliates and a written notice that the operating subsidiaries' and other affiliates' HMDA Disclosure Statements may be obtained at the CFPB's website. The bank or savings association must include the written notices in the public file within three business days after receiving notification from the FFIEC of the availability of the disclosure statements.

(ii) Availability of bank or savings association HMDA data. A large bank or savings association required to report home mortgage loan data pursuant to 12 CFR part 1003 must include in its public file a written notice that the home mortgage loan data published by the appropriate Federal banking agency under § 25.42(j) are available at the appropriate Federal banking agency's website.

(3) Small banks or 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, must include in its public file 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.

(4) Banks and savings associations with strategic plans. A bank or savings association that has been approved to be evaluated under a strategic plan must include in its public file a copy of that plan while it is in effect. 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” institution rating during its most recent examination must 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 must update the description quarterly by March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, respectively.

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

(1) For banks or savings associations that maintain a website, all information required for the bank's or savings association's public file under this section must be maintained on the bank's or savings association's website.

(2) For banks or savings associations that do not maintain a website:

(i) All the information required for the bank's or savings association's public file must be maintained at the main office and, if an interstate bank or savings association, at one branch office in each State; and

(ii) At each branch, the following must be maintained:

(A) 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

(B) Within five calendar days of the request, all the information that the bank or savings association is required to maintain under this section in the public file relating to the facility-based assessment area in which the branch is located.

(d) Copies. Upon request, a bank or savings association must provide copies, either on paper or in digital 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 not provided in digital form).

(e) Timing requirements. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a bank or savings association must ensure that its public file contains the information required by this section for each of the previous three calendar years, with the most recent calendar year included in its file annually by April 1 of the current calendar year.

[89 FR 7165, Feb. 1, 2024, as amended at 89 FR 7168, Feb. 1, 2024]