Meeks Criticizes Otting for Rushing Through Incomplete CRA Reform

Statement

Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, issued the following statement regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) decision to finalize rulemaking on CRA modernization, and Comptroller Otting's reported imminent resignation

"Not only am I disappointed that Comptroller Otting decided to ram through incomplete reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act, but -- if reports are true of his imminent resignation -- abandoning leadership during legacy rulemaking and a financial crisis is as unprecedented as it is on-brand for him and the Trump administration.

"At its core, the CRA is a civil rights bill, and any attempt to reform and modernize must remain true to this legacy. Broadly speaking, there is agreement that there are opportunities to modernize the CRA in the age of digital banking and fintech, and to build on the knowledge and experience gained from the past 25 years when the law was last updated. However, Comptroller Otting instead opted to rush through this flawed rulemaking without consensus from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, both of whom opted not to sign-on to the final rule at this time. The result will be a regulatory muddle that undermines the very communities this vital law was meant to help.

"While it does incorporate many of the changes I and other stakeholders have suggested, it remains problematic in several key areas, and lacks a core analytical foundation; a standard the rule effectively concedes it has failed to meet due to not having gathered the adequate data. This all raises questions about the methodology applied by the OCC to finalize this rulemaking, and Comptroller Otting's rush to publish an incomplete final rule. I will continue working with Chairwoman Waters and my colleagues in Congress in both the House and Senate to conduct our oversight."

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