OCC works to win back House Democrats, still miffed at leader’s focus on crypto

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expanding an outreach program designed to provide access to minority depository institutions, or MDIs.

Per a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the OCC’s Project REACh is expanding to include a pledge of large and mid-sized banks partnering with MDIs. The pledge requires the partner bank to expand investment and support for executive development at the MDI that it works with.

MDIs are simply banks or credit unions that are majority-owned by ethnic or racial minorities. They are seen as critical to expanding financial inclusion to minority groups left out of many parts of the broader financial system. Acting Comptroller Brooks said of MDIs:

“Their unique status makes them well-suited to help improve financial services for minority and underserved communities and create meaningful economic opportunities.”

The OCC named Citibank, Flagstar, Huntington, Texas Capital and Wells Fargo as the first cohort to commit to the new pledge.