FDIC Federal Register Citations

SOLVAY BANK

September 17, 2004

Mr. Robert E. Feldman
Executive Secretary
Attention: Comments/Legal ESS
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
550 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20429

Re: RIN Number 3064-AC50

Dear Mr. Feldman:

Our bank is a 87 year-old community bank with approximately $440 million in assets.

We strongly support the FDIC’s proposal to raise the threshold for the streamlined small bank CRA examination to $1 billion without regard to the size of the bank’s holding company. This would greatly relieve the regulatory burden currently imposed on small banks, which are now required to meet the same standards imposed on the nation’s largest banks.

We also support the addition of a community development criterion to the small bank examination for larger community banks, but we believe that the FDIC should adopt its original $500 million threshold without a community development criterion. The new community development criterion should be applied only to banks greater than $500 million up to $1 billion. As field examiners know, it has proven extremely difficult for small banks to find appropriate CRA qualified investments in their communities.

We thank you for recognizing that “one size does not fit all” when it comes to CRA, and we urge you to adopt your proposal.

Very truly yours,

SOLVAY BANK

Paul P. Mello, CPA
President & CEO