Woodstock Institute regularly monitors Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination and compliance. Enclosed is a list of Chicago area banks that are scheduled for examination during the first quarter of 2006.  We encourage you to submit comments to the banks in your community regarding their lending and community reinvestment performance. Your comments can directly influence the ratings that will be assigned to these banks and can be crucial during proposed bank mergers and acquisitions. 

Your organization may submit comments, positive or critical, about a bank at anytime.  However, an upcoming CRA examination provides an opportunity for your input to have the greatest impact.  Some regulators estimate the month during which they will examine each bank, but don’t let the passing of an examination date keep you from submitting comments. Sometimes examinations take longer than expected, and community input is always important for regulators and the bank to hear and will be relevant to future CRA examinations.

When you submit comments, send them to the particular bank as well as to the appropriate regulator, and request that your letter be placed in the bank’s CRA public file.  Please also send a copy to the Woodstock Institute.