From: Vickie Fastnacht [mailto:vfastnacht@cornerstonebk.com]
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 3:42 PM
To: Comments
Subject: Community Reinvestment Act Regulation
Vickie Fastnacht
9120 W. 135th Street
Overland Park, KS 66221
March 26, 2004
Dear FDIC:
As a community banker, I strongly endorse the federal bank regulators'
proposal to increase the asset size of banks eligible for the small
bank
streamlined Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination from $250
million
to $500 million and elimination of the holding company size limit
(currently $1 billion). This proposal will greatly reduce regulatory
burden.
When a bank must comply with the requirements of the large bank
CRA
evaluation process, the costs and burdens increase dramatically.
And the
resources devoted to CRA compliance are resources not available for
meeting the credit demands of the community.
Increasing the size of banks eligible for the small-bank streamlined
CRA
examination does not relieve banks from CRA responsibilities. Since
the
survival of many community banks is closely intertwined with the
success
and viability of their communities, the increase will merely eliminate
some of the most burdensome requirements.
I urge the agencies to seriously consider my thoughts and concerns
on this
matter.