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Federal Reserve Resources
Federal Reserve ResourcesLast update: March 11, 2024
Annual Report to Congress
- Annual
Report on Preserving Minority Depository Institutions
(2023) — The
Board submits this report pursuant to Section 367 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This section requires the Board to
submit an annual report to the Congress detailing the actions taken to fulfill requirements outlined in Section
308 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) of 1989, as amended by the
Dodd-Frank Act.
Research
- Just How Risky? Comparative Institutional Risks of Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Banking Institutions (CDBIs)
—
This paper examines the relative institutional failure risks for three sets of bank depositories: Community Development Banking Institutions (CDBIs), Minority Depositories (MDIs) and what we term Non-Mission Depository Institutions (hereafter, NMDIs). CDBIs have primary missions of community development and serving underserved populations; MDIs are typically led by minorities and serve minority populations (a single institution can be both a Community Development Banking Institution (CDBI) and an MDI, either or neither). In this analysis, NMDIs represent all other depository banks.
- Is the Community Reinvestment Act Effective for Indian Country?
— The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a U.S. law designed to encourage commercial banks to help meet the needs of borrowers in all segments of their communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods (LMIs). Presidents of various Native American owned banks were interviewed, and one overarching comment surfaced: the law does not recognize the contribution of Native American banks to underserved Native Americans because many of these prospective borrowers live in rural areas outside of what are labelled “assessment areas” under the CRA. In effect, the limitations imposed by the assessment area component of the CRA punishes these banks and discourages them from acting on the underlying intent of the CRA to provide access to credit for their population – Native Americans. Furthermore, this requirement conflicts with the core foundation of and support by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in promoting Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and their vital role in the financial system and to their communities.
- Minority
Depository Institutions: Evolving Financial Technologies and the Challenge of Governance
— Minority Depository Institutions
(MDI) came into being to create pathways for economic development in racially segregated neighborhoods. The
effectiveness of MDIs in accomplishing this shared mission is acutely sensitive to three factors: the economic
circumstances of the racial/ethnic community they serve; the structure of governance – both the public policies
that directly govern MDIs, and also the overall pattern of urban governance, including macroeconomic policy
stance and targeted public investment/tax programs; and third, the evolution of financial technologies.
Together, these factors shape the strategic options that MDIs have for transformative practice in the
communities they serve. This study examines how the intersection of historical unfolding of inequality,
governance structures, and financial technologies have shaped the “logic of reinvestment” (Chiong, Dymski, and
Hernandez 2018) of MDIs through a case study of Los Angeles County.
- Capital-raising
among minority-owned banks before and after the financial crisis
—The
financial crisis and recession of 2008-2010 made the availability of capital a significant area of concern for
community banks, and led many of these institutions to seek out sources to rebuild their equity. The need for
capital may have been even greater for some minority-owned financial institutions. Minority-owned depositories
are a small subset of financial institutions, most of which are also community banks, reflecting either black,
Hispanic, Asian, or Native American ownership, or majority minority board members and a mission to serve
minority populations. Regulators have long supported the existence of minority-owned institutions as a way to
promote the economic viability of minority and underserved communities.
- Minority Owned Banks Impact on Community: Three Case
Studies
– This
report pursues detailed questions on how minority owned banks serve their community by giving examples of
minority owned projects they have completed that serve their community.
- Ethnic Banks’ Logic of Reinvestment in Post-Crisis
California: A Case Study of Minority Depository Institutions in Los Angeles
— Minority residents and
businesses have had to contend with segregation and with exclusion from access to finance during the long
trajectory of US urban development. Historically, minority depository institutions (MDIs) have been at the
forefront of efforts to revitalize disadvantaged communities by providing access to finance for minority-owned
businesses and minority households. This study analyzes the dynamic racial/ethnic context for different MDIs
confronted by ethnic banks associated with different ethnic communities in contemporary Los Angeles. We contrast
the “logic of reinvestment” pursued by an African-American bank in South Los Angeles, pre- and
post-crisis, with the circumstances of Asian-American banks serving a dynamic customer base with substantially
higher levels of economic resources.
- Minority Depository Institutions at the Dawn of the 21st
Century
— This
paper examines how Minority Depository Institutions are rooted and localized in different ways with different
groups, and are shaped by different regulatory and institutional contexts.
- A Capital Infusion Program for Community Development:
The Case of the Community Development Capital Initiative
— This study investigates the Community Development Capital
Initiative (CDCI) program, the characteristics of the participants, and their subsequent small business lending
behavior. Results show that participating banks are larger, older, and hold relatively less loan loss reserves
when compared to a control sample of nonparticipating banks.
- Minority-Owned
Banks and Their Primary Local Market Areas
— This paper analyzes the experience and
performance of Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) in their primary local service areas in recent periods,
including before, during, and after the 2008 financial crisis. A review of the sector, highlighting of key
policies and initiatives pertaining to and affecting these institutions, and a brief review of previous research
are discussed.
-
The Changing Face of Communities Served by Minority Depository Institutions:
2001-2015
— This
research analyzes factors related to the increase of the numbers of Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) from
2000 to 2015. There were 164 and 174 MDIs in 2000 and 2015, respectively, according to a study by the Federal
Depository Insurance Corporation. After separating these banks into Black-owned, Hispanic-owned, Asian
American-owned and Native American-owned, this research found that the 10 bank increase was not equally
distributed across the MDI categories.
Articles and Related Publications
Executive Online Training Resources
- Ask the Fed:
Ask the Fed® is a
free program covering the latest financial and regulatory developments for senior banking officials and boards
of directors. Ask the Fed® consists of monthly conference calls that feature Fed experts and guest speakers
on top banking issues of the day, with time at the end for questions and comments. Bankers must register for the
sessions through the Ask the Fed website, which will have information on upcoming calls and access to archives
of past sessions (including audio replay). Ask the Fed Fact
sheet 
- : Podcast for MDIs by Federal Reserve Partnership program and the SBA Office of
International Trade, June 7, 2013.
- Basics for Bank Directors:
Online training for bank
directors developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This training introduces bank directors to
corporate governance and director duties and responsibilities; covers basic bank financial analysis; and
discusses the sources, control, and monitoring of portfolio risks, including credit, liquidity, and market
risks.
Federal Reserve System
Speeches and Testimony by Federal Reserve System Officials