The agency’s disaster relief apparatus has been put in motion for insured banks and thrifts affected by severe storms and flooding in Arkansas as well as the winter storm, snowstorm and flooding in South Dakota, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) said in separate Financial Institution Letters Monday.
The president on June 8 declared federal disasters in both Arkansas and South Dakota, making federal funding available to those affected in the Arkansas counties of Conway, Crawford, Faulkner, Jefferson, Perry, Pulaski, Sebastian, and Yell. Funding was also made available in the South Dakota counties of Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Hutchinson, Minnehaha, and Yankton; the Pine Ridge Reservation (including the counties of Oglala Lakota, Jackson, and Bennett); the Rosebud Reservation (including the counties of Mellette and Todd); and the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation (including the counties of Dewey and Ziebach).
Through Financial Institution Letters 32-2019 and 33-2019, the FDIC on Monday announced a series of steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in affected areas. The agency is encouraging banks to work constructively with borrowers experiencing difficulties beyond their control because of damage caused by the severe weather, and it points out that banks may receive favorable Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration for community development loans, investments, and services in support of disaster recovery.
The FDIC said it also will consider regulatory relief from certain filing and publishing requirements.