The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has created an Office of Minority and Community Development Banking. The new department will support the agency’s engagement with minority depository institutions (MDIs), community development financial institution banks (CDFIs), and other mission-driven banks.
“Mission-driven banks are the financial lifeblood of their communities, enabling individuals and minority-owned small businesses to securely build savings and obtain credit,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said. “By establishing the Office of Minority and Community Development Banking, we expand our engagement and collaboration in support of these institutions as part of a broader commitment to increasing financial inclusion.”
The office will promote private sector investments in low- and moderate-income communities. This new initiative is one of many actions taken by McWilliams. Since June 2018, the FDIC has launched the mission-driven bank fund to facilitate critical capital investments in FDIC-insured MDIs and CDFIs; established a MDI subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Community Banking; published a major research study capturing changes in the structure, performance, and social impact of MDIs over an 18-year period; adopted new processes to facilitate preservation of the minority character of an MDI in the event of a failure; hosted roundtables to facilitate the development of non-bank partnerships with MDIs for financial, lending, and technical support; developed an “origin stories” video program to provide historical context of the role of MDIs and their impact on the communities they serve; and strengthened and updated the FDIC’s statement of policy on MDIs.