Federal Reserve Release, H2, Actions of the Board, its Staff, and the Federal Reserve Banks; Applications and Reports Received

District: 1
Federal Reserve Bank of: Boston

Filings received during the week ending January 24, 2009

Filer

Filing Type

Filing Proposal

End of Comment Period

INDEPENDENT BANK CORP.

* 3A5
* 3A3

Application by Independent Bank Corp., Rockland, MA to merge with Benjamin Franklin Bancorp, Inc.,and thereby acquire its subsidiary bank Benjamin Franklin Bank, both of Franklin, MA pursuant to sections 3(a)(3)/3(a)(5) of the BHC Act.

Newspaper:	Not available
Federal Register:	02/20/2009

NEWSTAR FINANCIAL, INC.

* 3A1

Application by NewStar Financial, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts to become a bank holding company through the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding common stock of Southern Commerce Bank, National Association, Tampa, Florida, pursuant to section 3(a)(1) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended.

Newspaper:	02/16/2009
Federal Register:	02/16/2009

Availability of CRA Public Evaluations

The Community Reinvestment Act is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. It was enacted by the Congress in 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901) and is implemented by Regulation BB (12 CFR 228). The regulation was revised in May 1995.

The CRA requires that each depository institution's record in helping meet the credit needs of its entire community be evaluated periodically. That record is taken into account in considering an institution's application for deposit facilities.

A copy of an institution's CRA evaluation may be obtained directly from the institution or Reserve Bank.

Federal bank regulators use the following performance levels to rate an institution's performance under CRA:

O = Outstanding
S = Satisfactory
NI = Needs to improve
SN = Substantial noncompliance

The following state member banks have been examined and their CRA public evaluations are now available.

Institution / Location	RSSD ID	Exam Date	CRA Public Date	CRA Rating	Exam Method
NONE

CRA Examinations scheduled for Quarter of 2009 ()

Institution	Location
NONE

* Subject to the provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act

District: 1 Federal Reserve Bank of: Boston

Filings received during the week ending January 24, 2009

Availability of CRA Public Evaluations

CRA Examinations scheduled for Quarter of 2009 ()

District: 1
Federal Reserve Bank of: Boston