The FDIC today outlined a new process by which banks may apply for designation as a minority depository institution. According to the FDIC’s June 2021 policy statement on MDIs, the agency considers an MDI to be an insured depository institution where 51 percent or more of the voting stock is currently owned by minority individuals (including institutions collectively owned by a group of minority individuals, such as a Native American tribe) or an IDI where a majority of the board of directors is minority and the community that the institution serves is predominantly minority.
An FDIC-supervised institution or applicant for deposit insurance may submit a written request at any time to the appropriate regional office to be recognized as an MDI. Statements should “include a clear and concise statement describing the definition in the FDIC’s policy statement that institution management or the applicant believes that it meets, and contain sufficient supporting documentation for the FDIC to evaluate the request for the designation,” the FDIC said. Applications will be evaluated by FDIC staff and institutions and applicants will be notified by letter of the FDIC’s determination.
