Does the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act impact the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)? Not directly, but if your bank makes public welfare investments (PWIs), your ceiling just moved.
Section 203 raised the statutory maximum for qualifying PWIs from 15% to 20% for national banks and state member banks, while Section 906 codifies the Treasury mentor-protégé program for smaller institutions and credit unions. Neither one amends the CRA or impacts how performance is evaluated. PWIs are frequently the same community development activity banks rely on for CRA consideration, so the Act does give institutions that actively use them additional flexibility.
Here's what each provision changes, which institutions it reaches, and what it means for your compliance program.
Related: August 2026 Regulatory Update: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act & More
Section 203 of the ROAD Act raises the statutory maximum for qualifying PWIs from 15% to 20% for national banks and state member banks.
A higher ceiling doesn't mean you can move up to it automatically. Section 203 moved the aggregate ceiling and left the existing 5%-of-capital-and-surplus threshold in place. Below 5%, you can make PWIs without regulator sign-off. Above it, investments need approval or non-objection from the OCC or the Federal Reserve, up to the new 20% aggregate cap.
Before making any changes to your bank's investment policy, consider whether you've been constrained by the old limit at all. If you've historically kept PWI exposure well below 5%, or you don't have much of an investment pipeline, the higher ceiling probably won't change much.
If you run a substantial affordable housing and community development financial institution (CDFI) program and have been approaching your existing authority, it's worth a closer look at your policy limits.
Either way, swapping 15% for 20% in your investment policy isn't implementation.
The higher cap is most relevant to PWI investors, not necessarily bigger banks. Section 203 changes the investment authority for national banks and state member banks, and the biggest differentiator from there is PWI utilization and investment strategy.
The provision doesn't raise an equivalent PWI ceiling for credit unions, independent mortgage companies, state non-member banks, or federal savings associations. Thrifts make community development investments under a separate OCC framework at 12 CFR 5.59, not under the public welfare investment authority in 12 U.S.C. 24 that Section 203 amended. Independent mortgage lenders generally aren't directly affected by either provision, because they aren't the OCC-, FRB-, FDIC-, or NCUA-regulated institutions these sections identify.
A larger regional bank is likely to have the investment volume to care about the additional capacity, though a community bank with a robust PWI program could also benefit.
Many public welfare investments may also qualify for CRA consideration. While PWI authority and CRA qualification overlap, they aren’t the same.
OCC guidance recognizes that investments eligible for CRA consideration may also satisfy the public welfare standard, but the analyses aren’t identical. Something can fit within PWI authority without necessarily producing the CRA result the bank expects.
If you previously had more qualifying CRA and community development investment opportunities than PWI capacity, the new ceiling may allow you to reconsider investments you declined or limited. You should still evaluate each activity separately for CRA eligibility, geography, responsiveness to community needs, and the applicable performance test.
That distinction matters right now because of the recent whiplash on CRA. Examiners have been reviewing under the 1995 rule since the proposal to rescind modernization, and a new proposal is open for comment through October 13, 2026.
Related: September 2026 Regulatory Update
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service established the mentor-protégé program in 2018, pairing larger institutions with smaller ones to provide management, technical, business development, and other assistance.
Section 906 now directs the Treasury to establish and administer it under guidance or regulations, which makes the program more durable and gives participation clearer statutory authority.
But that doesn’t mean the provision creates a CRA safe harbor. The statute is silent on three points:
From an examiner readiness standpoint, participation in a Treasury-recognized program can strengthen the narrative and traceability of the activity, but you still need to document why the specific activity meets the applicable CRA criteria. CRA compliance software can track the community development activity you're relying on, so the documentation exists before an examiner asks for it.
A mentor is either a national bank designated by Treasury as a federal financial agent, or a large financial institution regulated by the OCC, FRB, FDIC, or NCUA with $50 billion or more in total consolidated assets. Congress put both eligibility definitions directly in the statute.
A protégé, which the statute calls a "small financial institution," can be:
The protégé side is where most eligible institutions will find an opening, since the $50 billion mentor threshold narrows that pool considerably.
Credit unions don't get the higher cap under Section 203, but they can participate in the mentor-protégé program since NCUA-regulated institutions appear in both definitions.
Section 203 took effect on July 11, 2026, when the Act became law as P.L. 119-101. The 20% ceiling is already in the U.S. Code and available now. Neither provision comes with a compliance phase-in period like the major consumer regulations do.
Section 906 works differently. The Treasury must administer the program through guidance or regulations first, and Congress didn’t set a deadline. As of mid-September 2026, no implementing guidance had appeared on the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service site. Between that and the open CRA comment period, compliance management software can give your team visibility into new and changing regulations as they move.
Related: What Is a Compliance Management System And Why You Need One
If Section 203 applies to your bank, start with an inventory rather than a policy change. What you find is what tells you whether the higher ceiling changes anything in practice. Work through:
Then keep the two analyses separate. Does the investment qualify under your institution's PWI authority? And does it qualify for the CRA consideration you're planning to claim?
Remember, a higher number in your policy doesn’t equal implementation, and CRA consideration is still earned activity by activity.
The strongest time to make the case for better tooling is when something is already in motion. Get the free guide: How to Get Buy-In for Compliance Tools.