CRA Performance: Four of 22 Banks Ranked As 'Outstanding' by OCC: Remaining 18 were 'satisfactory'.(Community Reinvestment Act)(Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)

Four of 22 banks whose Community Reinvestment Act performance was recently made public by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency earned "outstanding" rankings. The list included 18 "satisfactory" banks, while none was rated "needs to improve" or in "substantial noncompliance."

The four top banks were First Financial Bank of Terre Haute, IN; Union Bank of Gilbert, AZ; First National Bank of Tennessee of Livingston, TN; and Intervest National Bank of New York, NY. The first three had last been rated "satisfactory."

Those with "satisfactory" ratings include Camden National Bank of Camden; AL; Simmons First National Bank of Pine Bluff, AR; Eastern National Bank of Miami, FL; North Atlanta National Bank of Alpharetta, GA; Community State Bank of Ankeny, IA; Bankers Trust Co. of Cedar Rapids, IA; Liberty National Bank of Sioux City, IA; Barrington Bank & Trust Co. of Barrington, IL; The First National Bank of Cunningham of Cunningham, KS; National Bank of Kansas City of Leawood, KS; The First National Bank of Hudson of Woodbury, MN; The Paris National Bank of Paris, MO; Cornerstone Bank of York, NE; The First National Bank of Santa Fe of Santa Fe, NM; First N.B. & Trust Co. of Ardmore of Ardmore, OK; Target National Bank of Sioux Falls, SD; The First National Bank of Pikeville of Pikeville, TN; The First National Bank of Granbury of Granbury; TX; OmniBank of Houston; and Tri City National Bank of Oak Creek, WI.

First Financial, a $2 billion-asset bank with 46 branches in Illinois and Indiana, was last reviewed in 2002. This time, the agency found that the bank had generated an "excellent" volume of loans in Terre Haute; had done a "good" job of originating small loans to businesses in low-and moderate-income areas; had an "excellent" dispersion of small- loans-to-business distribution among businesses with different revenues; and had extended loans "particularly responsive to identified needs." Says Norman L. Lowery, president and CEO: "We've had an outstanding rating probably three times before, which spurred us to action. We've kept doing what we were doing. ...We take it seriously." The ...