FFIEC Releases 2017 Demographic Data based on 2015 ACS

RATA Associates is pleased to announce that the 2017 FFIEC demographic data that is now based on the 2015 ACS is now available for all RATA Clients. If you use Auto-Updates to keep your system data up to date, you should see the new data available the next time you log in to Comply. If you don't use Auto-Updates the data will be available on the RATA Support Site to download and import. Comply links the demographics to the geocoding in the system so once you update your system all new reports and views of the data are retroactive for the entire year. For those of you using our QuickPoint Web Service (QPWS) to geocode applications real-time in your LOS systems, you will only receive the new demographics from today forward since they are sent at the time the geocode is assigned. Again, this is only an issue for QPWS users because Comply links the current demographics based on the geocode. If you are a QPWS and are concerned that the demographic data is using 2010 Census data for the first half of the year, you may want to redo some or all of the previous addresses for 2017. Below are some details about the 2015 ACS. 

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) policy regarding the implementation of the American Community Survey (ACS) specifies that the FFIEC will refresh the ACS dataset utilized for the annual FFIEC Census File on a 5 year cycle. The ACS is a nationwide survey designed to provide local communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data each year. Because the pace of change has accelerated rapidly, the United States Census Bureau believes that it is no longer sufficient to collect detailed data about our population once every 10 years. Therefore, while the FFIEC demographic files for 2012 through 2016 used the 2010 datasets, the 2017 FFIEC Census File (and forward) will use the 2011-2015 ACS 5 year estimates as a basis for the file. In addition, there are several areas that have experienced census tract changes by the Census Bureau since the 2010 census was performed. Areas that received geographic updates for 2017 and beyond are Madison County, Oneida County and Richmond County in New York, Pima County in Arizona and Los Angeles County in California.