The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC [1]), the Federal Reserve [2], and the FDIC [3] this week issued guidelines for the financial institutions they regulate on submitting self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices, according to an announcement from the OCC [4].
In order to maximize transparency, the agencies are strongly encouraging the financial institutions to disclose diversity policies and practices on their websites, and also include information related to their self-assessments.
The institutions are also encouraged by the agencies to provide their diversity policies, practices, and self-assessment information to their primary federal regulator.
More information with detailed submission instructions will be provided at a later date, according to the announcement.
The agencies are required by Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) charged with developing standards for assessing diversity policies and practices at the institutions they regulate. The standards, intended to promote transparency and awareness of diversity policies and practices within the regulated financial institutions, became effective in June 2015 and provide and provide a framework for those financial institutions to assess their diversity policies and practices.
Click here [5] to view a Frequently Asked Questions summary about the process of financial institutions self-assessing their diversity policies and practices.
The Five Star Institute [6] formed the American Mortgage Diversity Council (AMDC [7]) in June 2015 in order to “focus on shaping the diversity agenda while advancing solutions that support a broad range of diversity initiatives. From supply-chain diversity, to addressing the challenges faced by minority and women-owned businesses. AMDC takes on today’s issues with a refreshing perspective and meaningful insight.”
“The introduction of this organization comes at a time when the industry can universally benefit from an organized effort to make marked improvement in the area of diversity and inclusion,” said Michael Ruiz, Director of Corporate Procurement with Fannie Mae and co-chair of the AMDC. “I look forward to a rewarding year as we work cross functionally to define the platform for the organization and champion the diversity initiative for the industry.”
“This is an industry-wide commitment that will have important and sustainable benefits for our members and mortgage professionals at large,” said Ed Delgado, president and CEO of the Five Star Institute.
Click here to register or for more on the AMDC’s fall summit [8], open exclusively to AMDC members. The fall summit will connect members and facilitate discussion that impact Minority & Women inclusion in their organizations.