Acting Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris today announced a new proposed regulation that will allow the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) to evaluate how well New York regulated banking institutions are serving their communities under an enacted amendment New York State’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) with respect to minority- and women-owned businesses. The new proposed regulation enables DFS to perform its recently enacted CRA obligation to evaluate the extent to which banks offer and provide credit to minority- and women-owned businesses in their communities and will help the department ensure minority- and women-owned businesses have fair access to credit. 

“People of color and minority- and women-owned businesses historically have struggled to access credit, and banking institutions play a critical role in underserved communities,” said Acting Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris. “This proposed amendment will guarantee DFS has the necessary data to ensure banks are evolving to best serve their communities and protect against redlining and fair lending violations.”  

DFS previously issued a Industry Letter alerting New York banking institutions that the Department would make changes to its CRA examination process in response to an amendment to the New York CRA. This amendment requires DFS to consider banking institutions’ record of performance in helping to meet the credit needs of minority- and women-owned businesses and banking institutions’ participation in technical assistance programs for small businesses and minority- and women-owned businesses in the Department‘s CRA examinations.   

Among its provisions, the proposed regulation details how institutions must collect and submit the necessary data to DFS while abiding by fair lending laws. Banks will be required to ask whether a business applying for a loan or credit is minority- or women-owned and report to the Department the details of applications, such as the date; type of credit applied for and amount; and whether the application was approved or denied; as well as whether the applicant is a minority-owned business, a women-owned business, or both; the size of the business; and the location of the business. 

The proposed regulation is subject to a 60-day comment period following publication in the State Register. The Department of Financial Services will then review all received comments and issue a revised proposal or a notice of adoption of the final regulation.   

• Read a copy of the proposed regulation.