Do You Have All Of Your IL-CRA Information Up-To-Date and Online?

For Full Compliance, Please Send Your Updated Documents For Publication.

The new regulations for your Illinois Community Reinvestment Act notice were finalized in May 2024 and are live as of Jan 1, 2026. It requires state-chartered banks, credit unions, and non-bank mortgage lenders to meet the financial services needs of their communities, specifically focusing on low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. These rules apply to a broader range of lenders than federal law.

• Covered Entities: The rules apply to Illinois-chartered banks, credit unions under the Illinois Credit Union Act, and non-bank mortgage lenders licensed under the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987 (RMLA).
• Assessment Focus: Financial institutions are evaluated on lending, investment, and service, with an emphasis on improving access for LMI communities.
• Performance Evaluation: The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) conducts examinations. The rules set specific criteria for evaluation, including lending tests for home mortgages, small business loans, and potentially consumer loans.
• Implementation Timeline: Regulators began evaluating financial institutions for compliance in 2025, following the May 2024 finalization of rules.
• Public Comments: Members of the public can submit comments regarding an institution’s performance to the IDFPR, which are considered during examinations.

Let’s Ensure Your Site is 100% in Compliance

All covered Illinois financial institutions must maintain a public file, post the Illinois CRA notice, and disclose performance evaluations on their websites. Required documentation includes assessment areas, branch locations, and public comments.

• Public Notice: Prominently display the Illinois Community Reinvestment Act notice on the website homepage or a dedicated CRA webpage.
• Public Evaluations: Post the most recent CRA Performance Evaluation, including the institution’s rating.
• Branch Information: List all branch locations, their street addresses, and census tracts.
• Opened/Closed Branches: Include a list of branches opened or closed in the current and two prior calendar years.
• Assessment Areas: Provide maps and descriptions of the community assessment areas served.
• Services and Fees: Maintain a description of personal and business products/services offered, along with fees.
• Public Comments: Publish all public comments received for the current and prior two years relating to the institution’s performance.
• Credit Unions: Must outline assessment areas, lending tests, and service tests (if not a small credit union).
• Mortgage Licensees: Must list referrals to third parties, including loan details, in their assessment.
• Holding Companies: Affiliates must include their holding company name in the public notice.

Documentation should be updated regularly, with branch changes required on a quarterly basis.

In Closing

While we have access to templates we can use to make displaying your CRA Notice faster and easier, we cannot provide the full CRA file information for all of our clients. Please check your website and send us the files to list and publish on your site to keep you in compliance. We can include a PDF file of your notice, but we must also develop a web page (non-PDF formatted) for your CRA Notice. We have many clients who find it is easier to break their examination file into “chunks”, or chapters, and list them one by one on their website. This is especially useful with very large files (more than 3 MB). Send us whatever files or information that your website needs to have updated. As always, we will get your updates done and make sure you are fully compliant as quickly as we can!

Thank You,

Kristen Rogers – Owner, Kristen’s Koncepts