Recognizing the serious impact of Hurricane Irma on the customers and operations of many financial institutions as well as federal and state regulators said they and will provide regulatory relief and assistance to affected institutions.
Irma, a category 5 hurricane, is bearing down on Florida and is expected to make landfall over the weekend.
The agencies — Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as well as state bank regulators — encourage institutions in the affected areas to meet the financial services needs of their communities.
The regulators will help them in several ways. For starters, they agencies realize that prudent efforts to adjust or alter terms on existing loans in hurricane-affected areas should not be subject to examiner criticism. The agencies recognize that efforts to work with borrowers in communities under stress can be consistent with safe-and-sound banking practices as well as in the public interest.
Also, financial institutions may receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration for community development loans, investments, or services that revitalize or stabilize federally designated disaster areas in their assessment areas.
Further, bankers should monitor municipal securities and loans affected by the hurricane. Appropriate monitoring and prudent efforts to stabilize such investments are encouraged.
In addition, institutions affected by Hurricane Irma that expect to encounter difficulty meeting the agencies’ reporting requirements should contact their primary federal regulatory agency to discuss their situation. The agencies do not expect to assess penalties or take other supervisory action against institutions that take reasonable and prudent steps to comply with the agencies’ regulatory reporting requirements if those institutions are impacted by Hurricane Irma.
The agencies also understand that the damage caused by the hurricane may affect compliance with publishing and other requirements for branch closings, relocations, and temporary facilities under various laws and regulations. Institutions experiencing disaster-related difficulties in complying with any publishing or other requirements should contact their primary federal and state regulatory agency.
Finally, the agencies understand that many banks face power, telecommunications, staffing and other challenges in re-opening facilities after the hurricane. In cases in which operational challenges persist, the appropriate primary federal and state regulator will expedite any request to operate temporary banking facilities to provide more convenient availability of services to those affected by the hurricane.