[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 12, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 12CFR228.43]

[Page 513-515]
 
                       TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
 
                   CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 
PART 228--COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT (REGULATION BB)--Table of Contents
 
       Subpart C--Records, Reporting, and Disclosure Requirements
 
Sec. 228.43  Content and availability of public file.

    (a) Information available to the public. A bank shall maintain a 
public file that includes the following information:
    (1) All written comments received from the public for the current 
year and each of the prior two calendar years that specifically relate 
to the bank's performance in helping to meet community credit needs, and 
any response to the comments by the bank, if neither the comments nor 
the responses contain statements that reflect adversely on the good name 
or reputation of any persons other than the bank or publication of which 
would violate specific provisions of law;
    (2) A copy of the public section of the bank's most recent CRA 
Performance Evaluation prepared by the Board. The bank shall place this 
copy in the public file within 30 business days after its receipt from 
the Board;
    (3) A list of the bank's branches, their street addresses, and 
geographies;

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    (4) A list of branches opened or closed by the bank during the 
current year and each of the prior two calendar years, their street 
addresses, and geographies;
    (5) A list of services (including hours of operation, available loan 
and deposit products, and transaction fees) generally offered at the 
bank's branches and descriptions of material differences in the 
availability or cost of services at particular branches, if any. At its 
option, a bank may include information regarding the availability of 
alternative systems for delivering retail banking services (e.g., ATMs, 
ATMs not owned or operated by or exclusively for the bank, banking by 
telephone or computer, loan production offices, and bank-at-work or 
bank-by-mail programs);
    (6) A map of each assessment area showing the boundaries of the area 
and identifying the geographies contained within the area, either on the 
map or in a separate list; and
    (7) Any other information the bank chooses.
    (b) Additional information available to the public--(1) Banks other 
than small banks. A bank, except a small bank or a bank that was a small 
bank during the prior calendar year, shall include in its public file 
the following information pertaining to the bank and its affiliates, if 
applicable, for each of the prior two calendar years:
    (i) If the bank has elected to have one or more categories of its 
consumer loans considered under the lending test, for each of these 
categories, the number and amount of loans:
    (A) To low-, moderate-, middle-, and upper-income individuals;
    (B) Located in low-, moderate-, middle-, and upper-income census 
tracts; and
    (C) Located inside the bank's assessment area(s) and outside the 
bank's assessment area(s); and
    (ii) The bank's CRA Disclosure Statement. The bank shall place the 
statement in the public file within three business days of its receipt 
from the Board.
    (2) Banks required to report Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) 
data. A bank required to report home mortgage loan data pursuant to part 
203 of this chapter shall include in its public file a copy of the HMDA 
Disclosure Statement provided by the Federal Financial Institutions 
Examination Council pertaining to the bank for each of the prior two 
calendar years. In addition, a bank that elected to have the Board 
consider the mortgage lending of an affiliate for any of these years 
shall include in its public file the affiliate's HMDA Disclosure 
Statement for those years. The bank shall place the statement(s) in the 
public file within three business days after its receipt.
    (3) Small banks. A small bank or a bank that was a small bank during 
the prior calendar year shall include in its public file:
    (i) The bank's loan-to-deposit ratio for each quarter of the prior 
calendar year and, at its option, additional data on its loan-to-deposit 
ratio; and
    (ii) The information required for other banks by paragraph (b)(1) of 
this section, if the bank has elected to be evaluated under the lending, 
investment, and service tests.
    (4) Banks with strategic plans. A bank that has been approved to be 
assessed under a strategic plan shall include in its public file a copy 
of that plan. A bank need not include information submitted to the Board 
on a confidential basis in conjunction with the plan.
    (5) Banks with less than satisfactory ratings. A bank that received 
a less than satisfactory rating during its most recent examination shall 
include in its public file a description of its current efforts to 
improve its performance in helping to meet the credit needs of its 
entire community. The bank shall update the description quarterly.
    (c) Location of public information. A bank shall make available to 
the public for inspection upon request and at no cost the information 
required in this section as follows:
    (1) At the main office and, if an interstate bank, at one branch 
office in each state, all information in the public file; and
    (2) At each branch:
    (i) A copy of the public section of the bank's most recent CRA 
Performance Evaluation and a list of services provided by the branch; 
and

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    (ii) Within five calendar days of the request, all the information 
in the public file relating to the assessment area in which the branch 
is located.
    (d) Copies. Upon request, a bank shall provide copies, either on 
paper or in another form acceptable to the person making the request, of 
the information in its public file. The bank may charge a reasonable fee 
not to exceed the cost of copying and mailing (if applicable).
    (e) Updating. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a bank 
shall ensure that the information required by this section is current as 
of April 1 of each year.