Rockingham Times

Optima Bank & Trust Company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire received its last CRA evaluation from federal regulators on Sept. 1, 2016.

At that time, the bank was rated as "satisfactory" and its assets were listed at $378.6 million.

Under the Consumer Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977, federally insured banks in the United States are required to meet the credit needs of the entire community in which they serve -- including low- and moderate-income community members -- through the use of safe and sound banking operations.

CRA evaluations are meant to ensure financial institutions are meeting these expectations.

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) oversee evaluations of state-chartered financial institutions. Evaluations for national banks are handled by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Financial institutions are typically evaluated every three years, although small banks may be reviewed less often. Banks with assets of $250 million or less and CRA ratings of "outstanding" or "satisfactory" in their last evaluations can not be evaluated more than once every 5 or 4 years, respectively unless there is reasonable cause or the institution has applied for a depository facility through a bank merger, new branch opening or acquisition.

The CRA exam schedule can be found here.