Dear Community Leader,
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Southern Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center-LaPlata, MD, invite you to attend the Southern Maryland Interagency CRA Listening Session on Thursday, October 1, 2015 at Waldorf West Library, 10405 O’Donnell Place, Waldorf, MD. The Southern Maryland Interagency CRA Listening Session was created to discuss Southern Maryland’s community development needs, issues, and concerns.
This discussion will be conducted under the auspices of the 1977 Federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which requires bank regulators to evaluate each “…bank’s record of helping to meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of the bank.”
Representatives from several community organizations such as yours are invited to meet with bank regulators (FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) for a facilitated discussion. This is intended to be a highly interactive session to elicit your perspective on important issues your organization and the residents you serve face every day.
No one person is expected to be knowledgeable about every topic, of course, but collectively, we believe that each participant will have much to contribute to the discussion.
In addition to encouraging banks to meet their obligations under the CRA, and evaluating their performance, the CRA examination process can also identify mutually beneficial opportunities for banks and community organizations to collaborate. The Interagency Listening Session will help us better understand how financial institutions serving the counties of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s are involved with community development. Getting your professional perspective, through comments and questions, is the session’s central objective.
Candor is important. Any details about the discussion with attribution will be solely for internal purposes at the regulatory agencies, and primarily for the benefit of examiners. Information that may be shared with a bank in the course of a future CRA examination will focus on community needs (such as affordable housing, abandoned building rehabs, financial education, small business loans, technical assistance, etc.). Names of the organizations or individuals who participated in the Southern Maryland Interagency CRA Listening Session will not be shared with any financial institution and specific comments will not be associated with any party.
There will be a light continental breakfast and networking beginning at 9:30 A.M. and the discussion will begin promptly at 10:00. We anticipate wrapping up by 12:00 Noon.
We hope you, or a knowledgeable staff member, will join us on Thursday, October 1, 2015. Please register yourself or someone from your organization, even if the specific representative has not yet been selected.
Once you are registered, you will receive an email with a list of proposed questions and additional details. The questions are designed to give you an idea of the kinds of questions we may ask.