PRINTER'S NO. 70
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 119
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, STREET, KEARNEY, COSTA, TARTAGLIONE AND
KANE, JANUARY 22, 2025
REFERRED TO BANKING AND INSURANCE, JANUARY 22, 2025
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 7 (Banks and Banking) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for community reinvestment,
3 for community reinvestment by banks and for community
4 reinvestment by nonbank entities.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Title 7 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
8 is amended by adding a part to read:
9 PART III
10 COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT
11 Chapter
12 71. Community Reinvestment by Banks
13 72. Community Reinvestment by Nonbank Entities
14 CHAPTER 71
15 COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT BY BANKS
16 Sec.
17 7101. Definitions.
18 7102. Duties of banks.
19 7103. Duties of department.
 1 7104. Community reinvestment notice.
2 7105. Assessment of banks.
3 7106. Lists of banks by department.
4 7107. Transaction approval.
5 § 7101. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
7 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Bank." A banking institution as defined under section 6102
10 (relating to definitions). The term does not include a special
11 purpose bank that does not perform commercial or retail banking
12 services in which credit is granted to the public in the
13 ordinary course of business, other than as an incident to the
14 special purpose bank's specialized operations, including, but
15 not limited to, banker's banks and banks that engage only in
16 providing cash management controlled disbursement services or
17 serving as correspondent banks, trust companies or clearing
18 agents.
19 "Community reinvestment laws." The provisions of 12 U.S.C.
20 Ch. 30 (relating to community reinvestment), and the regulations
21 adopted by the Federal financial supervisory agencies as
22 provided under 12 CFR Ch. I Pt. 25 (relating to Community
23 Reinvestment Act and interstate deposit production regulations),
24 Ch. II Subch. A Pt. 228 (relating to community reinvestment
25 (regulation BB)) and Ch. III Subch. B Pt. 345 (relating to
26 community reinvestment), as applicable to the specific type of
27 bank.
28 "Community reinvestment performance." The performance of a
29 nonbank entity in helping to meet the credit needs of the
30 community credit union's entire community, including low-income
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 1 neighborhoods and moderate-income neighborhoods.
2 "Department." The Department of Banking and Securities of
3 the Commonwealth.
4 "Federal financial supervisory agency." The Office of the
5 Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the
6 Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance
7 Corporation and any successor to such agencies, as applicable to
8 the specific type of bank.
9 § 7102. Duties of banks.
10 (a) Local communities.--Each bank shall, in accordance with
11 the provisions of community reinvestment laws and without
12 excluding low-income neighborhoods and moderate-income
13 neighborhoods, delineate the local community or communities that
14 comprise the bank's entire community within this Commonwealth or
15 delineate one or more assessment areas, as applicable, within
16 which the department shall evaluate the bank's record of helping
17 to meet the credit needs of the entire community. The department
18 shall review the delineation for compliance with community
19 reinvestment laws and this subsection in connection with an
20 examination of the bank under section 401 of the act of May 15,
21 1933 (P.L.565, No.111), known as the Department of Banking and
22 Securities Code.
23 (b) Loan information.--Each bank shall collect and report
24 loan information in accordance with the applicable requirements
25 of community investment laws. Each bank shall file with the
26 department a copy of each disclosure statement prepared for the
27 bank by a Federal financial supervisory agency under community
28 investment laws within 30 business days of receiving the
29 statement.
30 (c) Public access.--Copies of the public section of the most
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 1 recent community reinvestment performance evaluation prepared by
2 the department under section 7105(b)(2) (relating to assessment
3 of banks) shall be provided to the public by mail, upon request.
4 A bank may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed the cost of
5 copying and mailing, if applicable.
6 (d) Public file.--Each bank shall maintain a public file in
7 accordance with community reinvestment laws. Each bank shall
8 place a copy of the public section of the bank's most recent
9 community reinvestment performance evaluation prepared by the
10 department under section 7105(b)(2) in the public file within 30
11 business days of receipt from the department. The bank may also
12 include in the public file any response to the community
13 reinvestment performance evaluation. The bank shall make a copy
14 of the public section of the community reinvestment performance
15 evaluation available to the public for inspection upon request
16 and at no cost at the bank's main office and at each of the
17 bank's branches in this Commonwealth. A bank that received a
18 less than satisfactory rating during the bank's most recent
19 examination under section 7105 shall include in its public file
20 a description of the bank's current efforts to improve
21 performance in helping to meet the credit needs of the entire
22 community. The bank shall update the description quarterly.
23 (e) Strategic plan.--The department may assess a bank's
24 record of helping to meet the credit needs of the bank's
25 assessment areas under a strategic plan under community
26 reinvestment laws, provided the strategic plan is filed with the
27 department concurrently with the strategic plan's submission by
28 the bank to a Federal financial supervisory agency for approval
29 under community reinvestment laws, and the strategic plan is
30 approved by the department.
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 1 § 7103. Duties of department.
2 The department shall assess the record of each bank in
3 satisfying the bank's continuing and affirmative obligations to
4 help meet the credit needs of the bank's local communities,
5 including low-income neighborhoods and moderate-income
6 neighborhoods and shall provide for the consideration of the
7 records in connection with an application considered under
8 section 7105(c) (relating to assessment of banks).
9 § 7104. Community reinvestment notice.
10 (a) Public notice.--Except as provided in subsection (d),
11 each bank shall provide, in the public lobby of each of its
12 offices, a public notice substantially similar to the one
13 provided in this subsection and subsection (b). Bracketed
14 material shall be used only by a bank having more than one local
15 community.
16 COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT NOTICE
17 Community reinvestment requires the evaluation of our
18 performance in helping to meet the credit needs of this
19 community, and to take this evaluation into account when the
20 Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities decides on
21 certain applications submitted by us.
22 Your involvement is encouraged.
23 You should know that:
24 You may obtain our current Community Reinvestment Statement
25 for this community in this office. (Current Community
26 Reinvestment Statements for other communities served by us
27 are available at our main office, located at:
28 .....................................)
29 You may send signed, written comments about our Community
30 Reinvestment Statement or our performance in helping to meet
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 1 community credit needs to (title and address of bank
2 official) and to the Department of Banking and Securities
3 (address). Your letter, together with any responses by us,
4 may be made public.
5 You may look at a file of all signed, written comments
6 received by us within the past two years, any response we
7 have made to the comments and all Community Reinvestment
8 Statements in effect during the past two years at our office
9 located at (address). You also may look at the file about
10 this community at (name and address of designated office).
11 You may ask to look at any comments received by the
12 Department of Banking and Securities.
13 (b) Subsidiaries.--If the bank is a subsidiary of a holding
14 company, the following provision shall be included in the
15 community reinvestment notice required under subsection (a):
16 We are a subsidiary of (name of holding company), a
17 (bank/savings and loan) holding company. You may request
18 from the (Federal Reserve Bank) of (address) an
19 announcement of applications covered by the community
20 reinvestment statement filed by holding companies.
21 (c) Most recent evaluations.--Except as provided in
22 subsection (d)(2), within 30 business days of receiving the most
23 recent community reinvestment performance evaluation prepared by
24 the department or a Federal financial supervisory agency, each
25 bank shall add the following provision to the community
26 reinvestment notice required under subsection (a):
27 You may obtain the public section of our most recent
28 community reinvestment performance evaluation at (name
29 and address of main office and designated community
30 office).
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 1 (d) Additional notice.--
2 (1) On and after July 1, 2023, in addition to the public
3 notice required under community reinvestment laws, each bank
4 shall provide in the public lobby of its main office and each
5 of its branches in this Commonwealth a public notice
6 substantially similar to the following:
7 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
8 COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT NOTICE
9 The Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities
10 evaluates our record of helping to meet the credit needs of
11 this community. The Department of Banking and Securities also
12 takes this record into account when deciding on certain
13 applications submitted by us.
14 Your involvement is encouraged.
15 In addition to the information that you are entitled to
16 receive under the Federal Community Reinvestment Act, as
17 listed in the "Community Reinvestment Act Notice" posted in
18 this lobby, you may review today the public section of our
19 most recent community reinvestment performance evaluation
20 prepared by the Department of Banking and Securities.
21 You may send written comments about our performance in
22 helping to meet community credit needs to the Department of
23 Banking and Securities (address). Your letter, together with
24 any response by us, will be considered by the Department of
25 Banking and Securities in evaluating our community
26 reinvestment performance and may be made public.
27 You may ask to look at any comments received by the
28 Department of Banking and Securities.
29 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a),
30 (b) and (c), prior to July 1, 2023, a bank may use the form
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 1 of public notice provided under paragraph (1) in lieu of the
2 form of public notice provided under subsections (a), (b) and
3 (c), if the use is consistent with the form of public notice
4 required to be used by the bank under community reinvestment
5 laws.
6 (e) Combination of notices.--The information, statements,
7 evaluations and notices required under this section and section
8 7102(e) (relating to duties of banks) may be combined with or
9 attached to the information, statements, evaluations and notices
10 required under community reinvestment laws.
11 § 7105. Assessment of banks.
12 (a) Factors.--The department shall assess the record of the
13 performance of the bank in helping to meet the credit needs of
14 the bank's entire community, including low-income neighborhoods
15 and moderate-income neighborhoods. The department shall assess
16 the community reinvestment performance of a bank utilizing the
17 applicable methodology provided in community reinvestment laws.
18 In addition, the department shall consider the following in
19 assessing a bank's record of performance:
20 (1) The bank's record of offering escrow accounts for
21 purposes of paying property taxes.
22 (2) Efforts of the bank to work with delinquent
23 residential mortgage customers who are unemployed or
24 underemployed to facilitate a resolution of the delinquency.
25 (3) The fair housing efforts of the bank in
26 collaboration with State and local agencies.
27 (4) The bank's record relating to abusive practices that
28 result in the loss of affordable housing.
29 (5) Written comments received by the department.
30 (b) Community reinvestment performance evaluation.--
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 1 (1) Upon the conclusion of the assessment required under
2 subsection (a), the department shall prepare a written
3 evaluation of the bank's record of meeting the credit needs
4 of the bank's entire community, including low-income
5 neighborhoods and moderate-income neighborhoods. Each
6 community reinvestment performance evaluation prepared under
7 this subsection shall have a public section and a
8 confidential section.
9 (2) The public section of the community reinvestment
10 performance evaluation shall:
11 (i) State the department's assessment of the
12 community reinvestment performance of the bank utilizing
13 the applicable methodology provided under community
14 reinvestment laws.
15 (ii) Discuss the facts supporting the assessment.
16 (iii) Contain the bank's rating and a statement
17 describing the basis for the rating. The rating shall be
18 one of the following:
19 (A) outstanding record of meeting community
20 credit needs;
21 (B) high satisfactory record of meeting
22 community credit needs;
23 (C) low satisfactory record of meeting community
24 credit needs;
25 (D) needs to improve record of meeting community
26 credit needs; or
27 (E) substantial noncompliance in meeting
28 community credit needs.
29 (3) The department shall provide a copy of the public
30 portion of the community reinvestment performance evaluation
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 1 to the bank upon completion of the evaluation.
2 (4) The confidential section of the performance
3 evaluation shall contain all references that identify any
4 customer of the bank, any employee or officer of the bank or
5 any person that has provided information in confidence to the
6 department or to any Federal financial supervisory agency.
7 The confidential section shall also contain any statements
8 obtained or made by the department in the course of an
9 examination which, in the judgment of the department, are too
10 sensitive or speculative in nature to disclose to the bank or
11 the public. The confidential section may be disclosed, in
12 whole or in part, to the bank if the department determines
13 that the disclosure will promote the objectives of this
14 chapter, except that no disclosure shall identify a person
15 that has provided information in confidence to the department
16 or to any Federal financial supervisory agency.
17 (c) Consideration of applications.--In considering an
18 application for the establishment of a branch or other facility
19 with the ability to accept deposits, the relocation of the main
20 office or a branch office or a merger or consolidation with or
21 the acquisition of assets or stock or assumption of liabilities
22 of another bank, the department shall consider, but not be
23 limited to considering, the bank's record of performance. A
24 bank's record of performance in helping to meet the credit needs
25 of the bank's community may be the basis for denying or
26 conditioning such an application.
27 (d) Rules and regulations.--The department may promulgate
28 rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.
29 § 7106. Lists of banks by department.
30 The department shall annually prepare and submit to the State
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 1 Treasurer a list of banks which have received a rating