Enacted by Congress in 1977, CRA requires depository institutions to serve the credit needs of the communities in which they offer banking services, especially low or moderate income people and neighborhoods. Depository institutions are evaluated on how well they are able to demonstrate that they know the credit needs of their communities and are actively involved in meeting those needs through loans, grants, investment and services. In practice, regulators recognize that different institutions will approach their CRA obligations differently. This recognition leads to both different examination methods (large or small retail, special purpose, wholesale, and strategic plans) and varying emphasis placed on lending, investment and services for each examination method. For the last 27 years, the Northern Trust Company has earned an Outstanding rating for our CRA activities.

Northern Trust is evaluated on the volume of its CRA qualified investments, community development loans, grants and services in low- or moderate-income communities. In addition, activities that are innovative or complex are weighted more heavily than other activities.