I write to strongly object to the proposed rulemaking to increase the size level of the "small banks" eligible to use the "small bank" test for CRA compliance.

The proposed change would exempt as many as 94 percent of depository institutions from service and investment requirements. It could result in as much as $5 billion less community investment over the next few years.

The proposed change would particularly hurt rural communities, that are often served primarily, or exclusively, by financial institutions who would no longer be subject to the CRA tests of "large banks." The new rule would essentially allow these institutions to relax their attention to investing in and serving disadvantaged members of their communities.

CRA has been an enormously successful and effective vehicle for improving investment in disadvantaged communities, resulting in benefits not only to members of those communities, but to our economy and society as a whole. Please do not make this rule change that would be so harmful to so many consumers and their communities.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Brooks
1711 35th Street, NW, # 7
Washington, DC 20007