The FDIC is updating examiner instructions to help strengthen minority depository institutions, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said today in Washington. Specifically, she said that the agency would update its examiner instructions for Community Reinvestment Act exams to clarify how they should count partnerships with MDIs.
“CRA officers at many larger institutions are not aware of how partnering with MDIs—whether through financial support, lending activities, or service activities including technical assistance—can count for CRA credit,” she said at the annual convention of the National Bankers Association. “In addition, there may be differences in how examiners count these activities.”
McWilliams said that the agency is also changing its process for marketing failing MDIs under its statutory mandate to seek to preserve MDIs’ minority character. “Going forward, when a new marketing initiative begins, we will provide a two-week window exclusively for MDIs,” she said, adding that the FDIC will provide technical assistance and contact all qualified MDIs on the bid list.
