CRA Nuts & Bolts - How to Define an Assessment Area, Collect Data, and Pass the Exam

Susan Costonis

Susan Costonis is a compliance consultant and trainer. She also has an affiliation with gettechnical inc. as an associate trainer. Her 35 year career in banking and training began with 20 years at First National Bank, an affiliate of Wells Fargo Bank, in Fort Collins, CO. Susan has been a bank compliance consultant or compliance officer in Louisiana since 1998.

During her career, Susan has successfully managed compliance programs and exams for institutions supervised by the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve. Susan regularly presents training to several state banking associations and specializes in compliance management, lending, and Fair Lending issues. She is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager and completed the ABA Graduate Compliance School. Susan also graduated from the University of Akron with a B.S in Art Education and the Graduate Banking School of the University of Colorado.

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm CT

Develop a "context report" that tells your story to the examiners.

Our topic for the webinar will focus on several simple steps to ensure a successful CRA exam outcome. Writing a dynamic CRA context report can show examiners not only that your financial institution understands the community credit needs, but that you are effectively meeting the needs in the assessment areas you serve. We will review the steps required to establish your case and demonstrate why your CRA program qualifies for a "Satisfactory" or possibly "Outstanding" rating.

The only way you can be sure that your performance context tells the right story is to tell the story yourself.

Covered Topics:

The importance of developing a CRA strategy and steps for successful implementation
What's included in a performance context? Learn how to describe your institution, quantify the ability and capacity of the bank to meet credit needs based on financial data, and any issues that should be highlighted about a holding company, affiliate or subsidiary
Learn how to highlight the positive outcomes of your lending focus and business strategy
Tips to describe your assessment area including demographic and economic data resources
Best practices to deal with CRA-related complaints and potential fair lending issues that can threaten a successful exam
Steps for managing a CRA exam, including a review of the components of the rating process
Overview of the data collection process for CRA Reporting
Definitions of Community Development Loans and Services
Ideas for passing the Investment Test portion of the exam
Helpful CRA compliance resources and regulatory guidance

Who Should Attend?

Compliance Officers, CRA Officers, and Senior Management will find this session very beneficial.

Sign Up!

6-Month OnDemand Weblink - $ 255: Includes a weblink for unlimited viewing for 6-months after the date of the webinar as well as a link to handouts. Does not include live session.
CD-ROM and Hardcopy Handouts - $ 295: CD-ROM plus Hardcopy Handouts. Does not include live session.