As there is no specified group of individuals presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged under the statute creating minority depository institutions (MDIs), the national bank regulator is dropping portions of its rules that outline who those groups are, the agency said in a bulletin Tuesday.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) made the announcement in a bulletin it issued to all national banks and federal savings associations, among others, that it supervises.
The OCC said it issued the bulletin to follow an executive order (EO) by President Donald Trump (R) last year. The title of the order was “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Initiative” (EO 14219). The agency indicated that its action is part of its effort to follow the EO to rescind or amend of certain regulations” that are unnecessary, based on anything other than the best reading of the underlying statutory authority, or lacking clear statutory authority.”
The OCC said its bulletin on MDIs “revises the definition of an MDI (the statute that created the designation) to more closely align with the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA).”
Under that law, an MDI is defined based on ownership by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. The OCC said the statute does not specify any group of individuals “presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged.”
For banks and savings association, the OCC defines an MDI to include a bank or Federal savings association that is at least 51% owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. For a mutual savings association, and MDI is defined as one where the majority of the board of directors, account holders, and the community which it services is predominantly minority.
The OCC indicated those parameters will be the only ones used in determining a bank’s status as an MDI.
The bulletin also notes, however, that the agency will “maintain the designations of current MDIs.” The agency said under the previous version of the policy statement, it could at its discretion continue to designate a bank as an MDI under certain circumstances when the bank no longer met the statutory definition of an MDI.
“The updated definition and maintained designations improve the policy statement’s consistency with FIRREA and minimize disruption to current MDIs,” the agency said.
OCC Bulletin 2026-26: Minority Depository Institutions: Reissuance of Policy Statement
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