Before examiners from financial regulatory agencies can judge your bank's CRA performance, they need to get a general sense of your community and how your bank fits into it. They consider a number of factors, including but not limited to
- the makeup of the community;
- what the local and regional economic conditions are;
- what kind of opportunities exist for serving the community through lending and investments;
- what your bank's business strategy and products are;
- how your bank is doing financially;
- what CRA rating your bank has received in the past and, sometimes, how other local institutions have been doing;
- what your bank sees as the credit needs of its community; and
- what individuals, community and civic organizations, and businesses—as well as state, local, and tribal governments—think about your bank's efforts toward meeting the community's credit needs.
