Bankowość · 10.01.2003

Community and Economic Development Entities, Community Development Projects, and Other Public Welfare Investments

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is proposing to amend 12 CFR part 24, the regulation governing national bank investments that are designed primarily to promote the public welfare. This proposal updates the definition section of the regulation to reflect the additional types of public welfare investment structures that have become more common in recent years and that are permissible under the governing statute. The proposal also clarifies the statutory standard that applies to the activities of those entities; simplifies the standards for making public welfare investments; clarifies how a national bank calculates the value of its public welfare investments for purposes of complying with the rule's investment limits; simplifies the regulation's investment self-certification and prior approval processes; and expands the list of examples of qualifying public welfare investments that satisfy the rule's requirements. These changes are intended to encourage additional public welfare investments by national banks by simplifying the regulation and further reducing unnecessary burden associated with part 24 investments.