OCC Establishes Advisory Committees on Minority Institutions and Mutual Associations

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has established advisory committees to provide perspectives to the agency on the unique challenges and needs of minority depository institutions and mutual savings associations, the OCC announced today.

The OCC Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC) and the OCC Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC) will each have 10 members serving two-year terms and will each meet at least twice per year.

The committees replace similar advisory groups established by the former Office of Thrift Supervision.  Responsibility for oversight of federal savings associations transferred to the OCC on July 21, 2011, under provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The OCC has long recognized the importance of minority depository institutions and has actively supported their preservation.  These typically small institutions, which often promote the economic viability of under-served communities, face unique issues in competing with larger banks.

The MDIAC, made up of officers and directors of minority depository institutions and other financial institutions committed to supporting such institutions, will offer insights to the OCC’s bank supervision workforce on providing technical assistance, encouraging formation of new minority depository institutions, and safeguarding the minority character of these institutions during mergers or acquisitions.

The MSAAC will help the OCC assess the state of mutual savings associations and advise the OCC on ways to help ensure their continued health and viability.  On July 21, 2011, the OCC became the regulator of more than 200 federal mutual savings associations.  Savings associations organized as mutual institutions issue no capital stock and, therefore, have no shareholders.  Mutual institutions tend to be small—more than half have less than $300 million in assets—and closely focused on their communities.

The announcement and solicitations for members will be published soon in the Federal Register.