Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officials are espousing the benefits of a new initiative designed to foster greater transparency and accountability.
FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said the agency’s Trust through Transparency endeavor, offered through its website, provides new performance metrics that cross business lines and includes data on the turnaround times for examinations and bank applications. It also includes timely response rates for the FDIC call center.
“Like any asset, trust must be earned and then preserved,” McWilliams said. “In my view, the best way to maintain a trusting relationship is to be accessible, understandable and responsive — to provide your stakeholders with the information and means to hold you accountable.”
The FDIC issued a request for information on how to make communication with insured depository institutions more effective and streamlined while also seeking comment on a proposal to retire more than half of the 664 risk management supervision-related Financial Institution Letters it issued between 1995 through 2017.
“To promote real trust, we cannot simply make data available, publish performance measures, and consider the job complete,” McWilliams said. “That is not transparency or accountability. Instead, we must strive to be accessible to financial institutions, consumers and the general public; understandable to most audiences; and responsive to new ideas and demands.”