June 4, 2019 Media contact:
Julianne Fisher Breitbeil
(202) 898-6895
jbreitbeil@fdic.gov
Banker Feedback Helps Focus FDIC Efforts to Better Address their Needs
Over the past year, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Jelena McWilliams has been
meeting with local bankers, state supervisors, and consumer groups to obtain feedback on many important
topics, including: the needs of their local communities, the FDIC’s regulatory approach, and ideas to promote
economic inclusion.
At a speech today before the Community Development Bankers Association’s Peer Forum and Membership
Meeting in Washington, D.C., Chairman McWilliams said, “The role of regulatory agencies is not to stand in the
way of relationships between banks and the communities they serve, but to encourage them. To achieve that
goal requires that regulators get out of the D.C. ‘beltway’ and hear firsthand both from the bankers and the
communities they serve. In my first year at the FDIC, I am almost halfway through a 50-state listening tour.”
As a result of her meetings, Chairman McWilliams has directed staff to increase efforts to:
Actively seek ways to reduce regulatory burden on community banks;
Encourage community banking, including the establishment of de novo banks in communities of all
sizes;
Promote and preserve the nation’s Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs);
Modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) framework and provide clarity to institutions on their
CRA obligations; and
Ensure that the regulatory framework encourages banks to offer products and services to low- and
moderate-income households.
Chairman McWilliams closed out her remarks by telling the group, “I look forward to working with you to build
wealth in our communities, expand access to safe banking products and services, and bring unbanked and
underbanked consumers into the banking fold.”
Attachments:
Chairman McWilliams speech before the Community Development Bankers Association
Map of States Visited by FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams
###
Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation’s banking system.
The FDIC insures deposits at the nation’s banks and savings associations, 5,362 as of March 31, 2019. It promotes the safety and
soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives
no federal tax dollars—insured financial institutions fund its operations.
FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription
electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC’s Public
Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-47-2019
Julianne Fisher Breitbeil
(202) 898-6895
jbreitbeil@fdic.gov
Banker Feedback Helps Focus FDIC Efforts to Better Address their Needs
Over the past year, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Jelena McWilliams has been
meeting with local bankers, state supervisors, and consumer groups to obtain feedback on many important
topics, including: the needs of their local communities, the FDIC’s regulatory approach, and ideas to promote
economic inclusion.
At a speech today before the Community Development Bankers Association’s Peer Forum and Membership
Meeting in Washington, D.C., Chairman McWilliams said, “The role of regulatory agencies is not to stand in the
way of relationships between banks and the communities they serve, but to encourage them. To achieve that
goal requires that regulators get out of the D.C. ‘beltway’ and hear firsthand both from the bankers and the
communities they serve. In my first year at the FDIC, I am almost halfway through a 50-state listening tour.”
As a result of her meetings, Chairman McWilliams has directed staff to increase efforts to:
Actively seek ways to reduce regulatory burden on community banks;
Encourage community banking, including the establishment of de novo banks in communities of all
sizes;
Promote and preserve the nation’s Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs);
Modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) framework and provide clarity to institutions on their
CRA obligations; and
Ensure that the regulatory framework encourages banks to offer products and services to low- and
moderate-income households.
Chairman McWilliams closed out her remarks by telling the group, “I look forward to working with you to build
wealth in our communities, expand access to safe banking products and services, and bring unbanked and
underbanked consumers into the banking fold.”
Attachments:
Chairman McWilliams speech before the Community Development Bankers Association
Map of States Visited by FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams
###
Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation’s banking system.
The FDIC insures deposits at the nation’s banks and savings associations, 5,362 as of March 31, 2019. It promotes the safety and
soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives
no federal tax dollars—insured financial institutions fund its operations.
FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription
electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC’s Public
Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-47-2019