§ 228.17 - Retail lending assessment areas.

§ 228.17 Retail lending assessment areas.

(a) In general.

(1) Based upon the criteria described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, a large bank must delineate retail lending assessment areas within which the Board evaluates the bank's record of helping to meet the credit needs of its entire community pursuant to § 228.22.

(2) A large bank is not required to delineate retail lending assessment areas for a particular calendar year if, in the prior two calendar years, the large bank originated or purchased within its facility-based assessment areas more than 80 percent of its home mortgage loans, multifamily loans, small business loans, small farm loans, and automobile loans if automobile loans are a product line for the large bank as described in paragraph II.a.1 of appendix A to this part.

(3) If, in a retail lending assessment area delineated pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, the large bank did not originate or purchase any reported loans in any of the product lines that formed the basis of the retail lending assessment area delineation pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section, the Board will not consider the retail lending assessment area to have been delineated for that calendar year.

(b) Geographic requirements for retail lending assessment areas.

(1) A large bank's retail lending assessment area must consist of either:

(i) The entirety of a single MSA (using the MSA boundaries that were in effect as of January 1 of the calendar year in which the delineation applies), excluding any counties inside the large bank's facility-based assessment areas; or

(ii) All of the counties in the nonmetropolitan area of a State (using the MSA boundaries that were in effect as of January 1 of the calendar year in which the delineation applies), excluding:

(A) Any counties included in the large bank's facility-based assessment areas; and

(B) Any counties in which the large bank did not originate any closed-end home mortgage loans or small business loans that are reported loans during that calendar year.

(2) A retail lending assessment area may not extend beyond a State boundary unless the retail lending assessment area consists of counties in a multistate MSA.

(c) Delineation of retail lending assessment areas. Subject to the geographic requirements in paragraph (b) of this section, a large bank must delineate, for a particular calendar year, a retail lending assessment area in any MSA or in the nonmetropolitan area of any State in which it originated:

(1) At least 150 closed-end home mortgage loans that are reported loans in each year of the prior two calendar years; or

(2) At least 400 small business loans that are reported loans in each year of the prior two calendar years.

(d) Use of retail lending assessment areas. The Board uses the retail lending assessment areas delineated by a large bank in its evaluation of the bank's closed-end home mortgage lending and small business lending performance unless the Board determines that the retail lending assessment areas do not comply with the requirements of this section.