How does a Community Reinvestment Act-covered institution jump from a “needs-to-improve” to a “satisfactory” performance rating? In the case of Republic Bank & Trust Co., it took a strong commitment to discard a profitable product that had been affiliated with the bank since 1997. The Kentucky-based institution was downgraded by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. from an “outstanding” CRA rating to a needs-to-improve rating in October 2004 after agency examiners found potential violations of...