Trade Associations Sue Regulators for Exceeding Statutory Authority in New Community Reinvestment Act Rules

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

The Texas Bankers Association, the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, the Longview Chamber of Commerce, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (collectively “Plaintiffs”), by and through their undersigned counsel and on behalfof their members, allege as follows:

INTRODUCTION

1. Plaintiffs seek review under the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) of regulations recently promulgated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) pursuant to the Community Reinvestment Act of1977 (“CRA”), 12 U.S.C. § 2901 et. seq., published at 12 C.F.R. §§ 25.12, 228.12, 45.12, 89 Fed. Reg. 6574 (Feb. 1, 2024) (to be codified at 12 C.F.R. §§ 25, 228,
and 345). (hereinafter the “Final Rules”). The Final Rules work a wholesale and unlawful change to a statutory and regulatory regime that, for nearly five decades,has successfully encouraged lending in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods throughout the United States.

2. The CRA is a landmark piece of legislation that Congress enacted in 1977 to reverse years of government policies and private market actions that deprived lower-income areas of credit due to “redlining”—the practice of refusing to extend credit in certain neighborhoods deemed too risky (primarily low-income and inner-city neighborhoods).1 The law encourages banks to do more lending tolow- and moderate-income borrowers in the local communities where they have a physical presence and accept deposits, not simply to borrowers in affluent parts of
those communities.

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