Structure & Performance

National Information Center 
The Board of Governors' National Information Center is a database of structure and financial data covering all institutions and their affiliates that are required to file specific financial and structural reporting series. Users of the National Information Center can obtain an institution's current financial and structure data, as well as determine the various structure and name changes that have occurred for the institution.

Applications Bulletin
The Applications Bulletin identifies the Seventh District's currently pending applications, as well as notices that have been filed with the Chicago Fed and are open to public comment. The Bulletin also discloses the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) examination ratings for state member banks whose CRA rating became publicly available during the previous week. On a quarterly basis, the Bulletin lists those state member banks tentatively scheduled for a CRA examination during the upcoming quarter.

Archives of the Bulletin, as well as application and notice information for other Reserve Districts, are available through the Board of Governors' H.2 filings.

The Applications Bulletin is published weekly as a courtesy of the Federal Reserve, and does not constitute notice of these applications or notices.

De Novo Banks
A de novo bank is a state member bank that has been in operation for five years or less. Commercial banks that have been in existence for five years or less and convert to Fed membership are also subject to the de novo bank application and supervision standards. These institutions typically experience dramatic growth during their early years because they are basically brand-new institutions. These significant growth patterns result in unique institution risk profiles, which is why financial institution regulatory agencies very closely review their operations during the period in which they are considered de novo.

The Federal Reserve's Partnership for Progress website provides resources for the management of de novo banks and those considering a de novo bank charter.

Minority Banks — Partnership for Progress
In June 2008, the Federal Reserve System introduced an outreach and technical assistance program for minority-owned institutions. The program's website provides the following information: an overview of the life cycle of bank development, demographic and peer data, Federal Reserve forms, guidance and resources and a minority banking timeline.