Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officials said the agency’s creation of the Office of Minority and Community Development Banking would aid efforts to foster mission-driven banks.
FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams said the new office would support ongoing strategic and direct engagement with Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Community Development Financial Institution banks (CDFIs), and other mission-driven financial institutions.
“Mission-driven banks are the financial lifeblood of their communities, enabling individuals and minority-owned small businesses to securely build savings and obtain credit,” 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.”
McWilliams spearheaded a variety of initiatives designed to bolster the MDI Program, including establishing a Mission-Driven Bank Fund facilitating vital capital investments in FDIC-insured MDIs and CDFIs; initiating an MDI subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Community Banking; publishing a research study examining changes in the structure, performance and social impact of MDIs over 18 years; adopting new processes facilitating the preservation of the minority character of an MDI in the event of a failure; and hosting roundtable events as a means of facilitating the development of non-bank partnerships with MDIs for financial, lending and technical support.