HVBC 2016 Annual Report

27 Community Reinvestment Act. Under the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, as implemented by federal regulations, a state member bank has a continuing and affirmative obligation, consistent with its safe and sound operation, to help meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods. The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for financial institutions nor does it limit an institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best suited to its particular community, consistent with the CRA. The CRA does require the FDIC, in connection with its examination of a state savings bank, to assess the institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its community and to take such record into account in its evaluation of certain applications by such institution, including applications to acquire branches and other financial institutions. The CRA requires a written evaluation of an institution’s CRA performance utilizing a four-tiered descriptive rating system. Huntingdon Valley Bank’s latest federal CRA rating was “Satisfactory.” USA Patriot Act. Huntingdon Valley Bank is subject to the USA PATRIOT Act, which gives federal agencies additional powers to address terrorist threats through enhanced domestic security measures, expanded surveillance powers, increased information sharing, and broadened anti-money laundering requirements. The USA PATRIOT Act contains provisions intended to encourage information sharing among bank regulatory agencies and law enforcement bodies. Further, certain provisions impose affirmative obligations on a broad range of financial institutions, including banks, thrifts, brokers, dealers, credit unions, money transfer agents, and parties registered under the Commodity Exchange Act. Other Regulations Interest and other charges collected or contracted for by Huntingdon Valley Bank are subject to state usury laws and federal laws concerning interest rates. Loan operations are also subject to state and federal laws applicable to credit transactions, such as the: • Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, requiring financial institutions to provide information to enable the public and public officials to determine whether a financial institution is fulfilling its obligation to help meet the housing needs of the community it serves; • Equal Credit Opportunity Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, creed or other prohibited factors in extending credit; • Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1978, governing the use and provision of information to credit reporting agencies; and • Rules and regulations of the various federal and state agencies charged with the responsibility of implementing such federal and state laws. The deposit operations of Huntingdon Valley Bank also are subject to, among others, the: • Right to Financial Privacy Act, which imposes a duty to maintain confidentiality of consumer financial records and prescribes procedures for complying with administrative subpoenas of financial records; • Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (also known as “Check 21”), which gives “substitute checks,” such as digital check images and copies made from that image, the same legal standing as the original paper check; and • Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E promulgated thereunder, which govern automatic deposits to and withdrawals from deposit accounts and customers’ rights and liabilities arising from the use of automated teller machines and other electronic banking services. Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve Board regulations require depository institutions to maintain non-interest-earning reserves against their transaction accounts (primarily NOW and regular checking accounts). The Federal Reserve Board regulations generally require that reserves be maintained against aggregate transaction accounts as follows: for that portion of transaction accounts aggregating $115.1 million or less (which may be adjusted by the Federal Reserve Board) the reserve requirement is 3.0%, and for amounts greater than $115.1 million the reserve requirement is 10.0% (which may be adjusted annually by the Federal Reserve Board to between 8.0% and 14.0%). The first $15.5 million of otherwise reservable balances (which may be adjusted by the Federal Reserve Board) are exempted from the reserve requirements. Huntingdon Valley Bank is in compliance with these requirements.