PROCEDURES FOR FILING DOCUMENTS UNDER CRA SUNSHINE REQUIREMENTS.

The Federal Reserve Board on March 22, 2001, announced procedures for the filing of documents required by the CRA Sunshine Requirements of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which were enacted by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.

On December 21, 2000, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision approved final regulations implementing the CRA Sunshine Requirements. The joint final rule was published in the Federal Register on January 10, 2001, and took effect on April 1, 2001. The Federal Reserve's implementing rule is Regulation G, Disclosure and Reporting of CRA-Related Agreements (12 CFR 207).

The new CRA sunshine provisions require nongovernmental entities or persons (NGEPs) and insured depository institutions or affiliates that are parties to certain written agreements that are in fulfillment of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to (1) make the agreement available to the public and the relevant bank or thrift supervisory agency and (2) file an annual report about the agreement with the relevant supervisory agency.

For an agreement to be covered by the rule, an NGEP that is a party to the agreement must have had a "CRA communication," as defined in the rule, before the agreement, and the agreement must meet certain dollar thresholds set forth in the rule.

A compliance chart, which was published in the Federal Register with the final rule, highlights the rule's disclosure and annual reporting requirements. The chart notes that the rule's disclosure requirements apply only to covered agreements entered into after November 12, 1999, and the rule's annual reporting requirements apply only to covered agreements entered into on or after May 12, 2000. The chart and the final rule also describe the procedures for filing agreements that include confidential information.

If a covered agreement, list of covered agreements, or annual report must be filed with the Federal Reserve, the documents should be sent to the following individual:

Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson
Secretary of the Board
Attention: CRA Sunshine Agreements
  and Annual Reports
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
20th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20551

As a general matter, a covered agreement, list of covered agreements, or annual report concerning a covered agreement must be filed with the Federal Reserve if

* The parties to the agreement include a state member bank, a subsidiary of a state member bank, a bank holding company, or a subsidiary of a bank holding company (other than an insured depository institution or subsidiary thereof); or

* A state member bank, or a subsidiary or CRA affiliate of a state member bank, provides funds or resources under the agreement.

For more information about the final rule, please contact Kathleen Ryan, Senior Attorney (202-452-3667), of the Board's Division of Consumer and Community Affairs; or Kieran Fallon, Senior Counsel (202-452-5270), or Andrew Miller, Senior Attorney (202-452-3428), of the Board's Legal Division. For more information about submitting agreements, lists, and annual reports to the Federal Reserve, please contact Cathy Gates, Team Leader, or Kathleen Conley, Senior Review Examiner (202-452-3946).