On November 13, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) published in the Federal Register a final rule creating an optional Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) framework for measuring capital adequacy of qualifying community banking organizations. Banks that meet the qualifying criteria, including maintaining a leverage ratio greater than 9 percent, and elect to use the CBLR framework will be considered to have met the capital requirements for the “well capitalized” category under the agencies’ Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and will no longer be subject to the generally applicable capital rule. The final rule will become effective on January 1, 2020. OCC Release. Federal Register.