Community Bank Leverage Ratio Framework: Community Bank Compliance Guide Update

Summary:

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (together, the agencies) are issuing an updated community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) framework compliance guide, consistent with the changes made to the framework in the CBLR final rule published in April 2026.

CBLR Framework Community Bank Compliance Guide

Statement of Applicability: The contents of, and materials referenced in, this FIL apply to qualifying FDIC-supervised financial institutions with less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets that are not advanced approaches banks and elect the CBLR framework.

Highlights:

Specifically, the compliance guide incorporates the recent changes the 2026 CBLR final rule made to the CBLR framework. The final rule:

• Lowers the CBLR requirement from 9 percent to 8 percent, allowing more community banks to qualify for the CBLR framework.
• Extends the grace period from two quarters to four quarters, in order to provide additional time for community banks to either satisfy the definition of a qualifying community banking organization under the CBLR framework, or to achieve compliance with risk-based capital requirements.
• Limits a community bank to using the grace period for a maximum of eight out of the prior twenty quarters.