Rural Credit Access Act of 2024

(1) community development financial institutions are financial institutions that seek to expand economic opportunity in underserved rural investment areas and low-income communities by providing access to financial products and services for local residents and businesses that otherwise may not be accessible;

(2) certification as a community development financial institution allows an institution to engage several programs outside of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to further support the communities they serve;

(3) the Department of the Treasury must continue to support community development financial institutions by standing up an ombudsman office and creating an orderly and transparent process for decertification so as to not cause unintentional harm to the communities they serve; and

(4) the establishment of such an office and process should only serve to provide certainty and clarity for community development financial institutions, not to reduce available funds for the substantive work of such institutions, and as such, appropriate support for the Fund to accomplish this goal must be made available.

Section 104 of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4703) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

The Administrator shall establish in the Fund an Office of the Community Development Advocate (in this subsection referred to as the Office).

The head of the Office shall be the Community Development Advocate who shall—

(i) report directly to the Administrator; and

(ii) be appointed by the Administrator from among individuals having experience in advocating to expand economic opportunity for targeted populations and investment areas.

The annual rate of pay for the Community Development Advocate shall be equal to the highest rate of annual pay for other senior executives who report to the Administrator.

An individual who serves as the Community Development Advocate may not be employed by the Administrator—

(i) during the 2-year period ending on the date of appointment as Community Development Advocate; or

(ii) during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the person ceases to serve as the Community Development Advocate.

The Community Development Advocate may retain or employ independent counsel, research staff, and service staff, as the Community Development Advocate deems necessary to carry out the functions and duties of the Office.

The Community Development Advocate shall ensure that community development financial institutions provide safe and affordable financial products and services to targeted populations and investment areas. Such duties may include the following:

(A) Collecting, addressing, and documenting complaints from institutions about—

(i) the process of becoming a certified community development financial institution; and

(ii) the process of applying for grants or programs of the Fund.

(B) Working with the Administrator and institutions to address complaints where possible, including the following:

(i) Obtaining clarity relating to determinations or notices of noncompliance of an institution.

(ii) Ensuring reasonable responsiveness of the Administrator to inquiries from institutions.

(iii) Facilitating coordination between the Administrator and appropriate Federal banking agencies to ensure full understanding of issues related to safety and soundness of community development financial institutions or legal and regulatory obligations of such institutions.

(iv) Ensuring that community development financial institutions have timely access to technical assistance for application systems administered by the Administrator.

(C) Assess the efficiency and efficacy of the certification and application processes described in subparagraph (A) and assess whether the Fund has adequate resources for the number of applicants.

The Community Development Advocate shall submit to Congress, the Administrator, and the Community Development Advisory Board an annual report that includes—

(A) an assessment of the responsiveness of the Administrator to inquiries from community development financial institutions;

(B) an assessment of the length of time taken to review applications for certification or recertification from such institutions;

(C) the results of the assessments conducted under paragraph (4)(C); and

(D) such other information, as determined by the Community Development Advocate.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Administrator shall promulgate regulations to establish a process for revoking the certification of a community development financial institution under this Act. Such process shall include—

(A) provision of clear, written guidance from the Administrator regarding what constitutes noncompliance that would result in the revocation of a certification;

(B) the provision of meaningful, detailed, and individualized notice of noncompliance to the institution;

(C) identification in such notice of a reasonable period to allow the institution to cure such noncompliance, which period may be extended by the Administrator, in consultation with the Community Development Advocate;

(D) if the Administrator provides a notice to an institution describing noncompliance relating to fraud or misrepresentation of the institution, streamlined processes for decertification of such institution;

(E) provision of the contact information for the Office of Ombudsman; and

(F) a wind-down process for a community development financial institution for which certification has been revoked, established in consultation with the appropriate Federal banking agency (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act), to ensure the safety and soundness of the United States financial system.