Moorestown, NJ – October 14, 2009 – Danielle DeLucca, Director of CRA & Fair Lending Services for ICS Compliance, was interviewed by The American Bankers Association’s Community Banker magazine. In an October 2009 article entitled “CRA Champions: Reinvest Community by Community,” Ms. DeLucca offered advice to banks in regards to attaining outstanding Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) ratings. She recommends:
· going the extra mile where community development is concerned, “Take on leadership roles in [your] community service activities.” Forming partnerships and launching programs rather than simply participating in established groups can really help boost banks’ CRA ratings.
· accurately track lending and community development activities in an organized manner is an important piece to examiners. Create files highlighting “the mission or purpose of each organization…and provide clear rationale as to why the banks were working with them and should receive CRA credit for doing so.”
· monthly CRA committee meetings, “[allowing] them to proactively manage lending as well as to consider new product offerings and perhaps targeting specific neighborhoods in their assessment areas.”
· researching community organizations/programs to help “identify additional community development opportunities.”
· probing staff’s personal volunteer efforts “to identify new opportunities by finding out and leveraging what staff may already be doing.”
In sum, organized, concerted efforts by banking institutions to assertively invest in community outreach programs are the key to elevated CRA ratings.
About Danielle DeLucca
Ms. DeLucca is a Commissioned National Bank Examiner and BAI Certified Risk Professional. As a former bank examiner with the Officer of the Comptroller of the Currency, she brings specific expertise in consumer compliance and CRA examinations. Other areas of expertise include: fair lending and anti-money laundering examinations, and an in-depth knowledge of Centrax CRA software. Ms. DeLucca has been a speaker at the America’s Community Bankers national compliance conference, CRA/Fair Lending conferences sponsored by Marquis Software Solutions, and CRA training sponsored by the Regulatory Risk Monitor, for which she is also interviewed periodically. Ms. DeLucca has been with ICS Compliance for nearly 10 years.
About ICS Compliance
As an absolute specialist, ICS Compliance focuses only on the issues of regulatory compliance. Our seasoned professionals, with previous experience as compliance officers and/or regulatory examiners, provide invaluable experience and expertise. That competency, coupled with the proven ICS Compliance best practices and processes, provide clients with the confidence that comes from hiring the experts in compliance. Trusted by hundreds of financial institutions across the country, we provide advisement in the form of compliance administration programs, remediation projects, and consultation. If you want compliance confidence, then you want ICS Compliance!
For more information about how your bank can stay in compliance with federal regulations, visit
ICS Compliance at: www.ICScompliance.com or contact Michael Pappolla, Director at: 856.220.2240.
