PROVIDENCE – Citizens Bank received an “outstanding” rating from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act, according to a news release.
The act requires federally insured deposit-taking institutions to demonstrate that they support their local low- and middle-income communities through lending, investment and service activities. Citizens’ recent rating – the highest possible – reflects bank activities from January 2016 to December 2018, the release stated.
The company pointed to several benchmarks that led to its high rating, including extending nearly $2.1 billion in debt and equity to support affordable housing and economic revitalization, loaning $2.3 billion to businesses in low- and middle-income communities, and granting $5.7 billion in mortgage loans to low- and middle-income borrowers.
As of December 2018, more than 34% of branches were “readily accessible” to low- and middle-income communities, the bank stated.
Nancy Lavin is a staff writer for PBN. Contact her at Lavin@pbn.com.
