BANKING & FINANCE - April 3, 1992

Local Bank Hit Over Community Reinvestment: In an unusually strong enforcement action, the Federal Reserve Board has ordered Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach to overhaul its community reinvestment plan. The requirement is part of a cease-and-desist order prohibiting the bank from breaking certain consumer protection and community reinvestment rules. The bank, with $1.3 billion in assets, has agreed to comply with the Fed order. Fed officials said it was the first time the agency has issued a cease-and-desist order in connection with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, a federal law requiring banks to make credit available in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. The Long Beach bank played down the significance of the order.