What's happening
This bill requires the banking superintendent to provide detailed, publicly available assessments on how banks serve low and moderate-income communities.
Why it matters
Mandates more detailed, transparent reporting. Banks must now provide annual data and narrative explanations for how they serve low and moderate-income communities, covering specific activities like housing loans, small business lending, and support for local development.
Expands scope of public accountability. The law requires not only the assessment itself but also all related communications between the state and banks regarding these assessments to be available to the public upon request, increasing transparency and potential for public scrutiny.
Focuses on measurable community impact. The required reports now must break down loans, investments, and resources committed to underserved areas, including participation in government or private subsidy programs, making it easier for communities to see how banks are (or aren’t) supporting local needs.
May influence bank behavior and community relations. By specifying that each assessment factor must be individually discussed and explained, banks could face greater pressure to improve their performance in serving disadvantaged neighborhoods, as their efforts (or lack thereof) will be more visible and comparable over time.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Banking institutions
Banks seeking branch, merger or other covered approvals would face written assessments that separately discuss each community-credit performance factor and explain how it was considered using annual data.
Department of Financial Services
The department would have to provide fuller explanations of its assessments, including annual lending, marketing, community investment and staffing data, and make those explanations available upon request.
Low- and moderate-income housing advocates
They could request explanations detailing banks’ housing lending, marketing efforts and lending support in low- and moderate-income areas.
Small-business and farm advocates
They could review annual data on farm loans, loans to small businesses serving low- and moderate-income residents, and participation in housing, small-business and small-farm loan support programs.
Headline styles
Disclose Bank Lending Data
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to banks
- Referred to banks
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Disclose Bank Lending Data
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Crystal Peoples-Stokes
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2461
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 13, 2017
Introduced by Sen. HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks
AN ACT to amend the banking law, in relation to assessment of the record of performance of banking institutions in helping to meet the credit needs of local communities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 28-b of the banking law, as amended by chapter 227 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
When taking any action on an application or notice made by a banking institution under (i) section one hundred five, two hundred twenty-four, two hundred forty, or three hundred ninety-six of this chapter for a branch office, (ii) section one hundred ninety-one of this chapter for a public accommodation office, (iii) section six hundred one-b of this chapter for approval of a merger or purchase of assets, or (iv) under section one hundred five-a, two hundred forty-a or three hundred ninety-six-a of this chapter for the use or installation of an automated teller machine, point-of-sale terminal or similar electronic facility or on any other application or notice to which the superintendent of financial services shall by rule or regulation make applicable the provisions of this section, the superintendent shall take into account, among other factors, an assessment, in writing, of the record of performance of the banking institution in helping to meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operation of the banking institution. Such assessment shall include a separate discussion of the record of the banking institution pertaining to each of the assessment factors listed in all of the subparagraphs of this paragraph and a complete explanation of how each of these factors was considered by the department in making the assessment. This explanation shall include, but not be limited to, annu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00724-01-7
S. 2461 2
al data for the institution as follows: loans for housing low and moderate-income residents of low and moderate-income areas, and the scope of efforts to market housing and small business loans in low and moderateincome areas; the amount of loans to farms, and loans to small businesses that provide services to low and moderate-income residents of low and moderate-income areas; financial investments in and contributions to nonprofit local community development or redevelopment projects or entities; manpower resources committed to low and moderate-income housing lending and small business lending and other forms of administrative support for such lending; and participation in governmentally or privately sponsored loan insurance, guarantee or subsidy programs for housing, small businesses and small farms. Such assessment and explanation and any written communications from the department of financial services to a banking institution relating to such assessment and explanation shall be made available to the public upon request, provided that nothing contained in this subdivision shall be deemed to alter, amend or affect the provisions of subdivision ten of section thirty-six of this chapter. In making such assessment and explanation, the superintendent shall review all reports and documents filed with him or her pursuant to subdivision one of this section and any signed, written comments received by the superintendent which specifically relate to the banking institution's performance in helping to meet the credit needs of its community. In addition, the superintendent shall consider the following factors in assessing and explaining a banking institution's record of performance:
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of the foregoing section of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the banking law, in relation to assessment of the record of performance of banking institutions in helping to meet the credit needs of local communities
Purpose or general idea of bill
Under current law, the Banking Department makes a periodic assessment of a bank's record in meeting the requirements of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This legislation requires the assessment to also include a separate explanation of the record of the bank pertaining to each of the twelve individual assessment factors listed under the CRA, with a separate discussion of how well the bank satisfied each factor. The discussion relates to loans the bank has made in its community and the scope of its efforts to market small business loans in low and moderate income areas. The explanation is to be made available to the public.
Summary of specific provisions
This bill amends section 28-b(3) (a) of the banking law to require a bank's CRA evaluation to include a discussion of their performance record on each of the 12 assessment factors listed in the Community Reinvestment Act; an explanation of how each of the 12 factors was considered by the Department in making the assessments. Also, this bill makes reference to the Superintendent of Banks in a gender neutral manner.
Justification
The lack of detail in the CRA assessments results in assessments that are uninformative and of no help to community leaders and others seeking to work with banks to increase the bank's local community lending and overall social responsiveness.
Prior legislative history
A.8121 of 2009/10 A.1362 of 2011/12 A.3512 of 2013/14 S.6236 of 2015/16
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None
Effective date
120th day after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.