Ensuring Diversity in Community Banking Act

Ensuring Diversity in Community Banking Act

This bill establishes and revises provisions related to minority depository institutions, community development financial institutions, and impact banks.

(Sec. 4) The bill expands the definition of minority depository institutions to include women-owned banks. It also establishes impact banks as depository institutions with total assets less than $10 billion and where a certain total dollar value of loans are extended to low-income borrowers.

(Sec. 6) The bill creates Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committees at the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration. The committees must provide advice to their respective entities regarding preservation of the number and character of minority-owned institutions and the creation of new institutions.

(Sec. 8) The bill establishes the Minority Bank Deposit Program to prioritize the use of minority depository institutions to hold the deposits of federal departments and agencies.

(Sec. 10) The bill sets forth the threshold of controlling shares with respect to minority depository institutions and impact banks. It also allows new minority depository institutions and impact banks to take three years to meet initial capital requirements.

(Sec. 12) The bill establishes a program allowing minority depository institutions and impact banks to apply to receive deposits from certain Treasury accounts.

(Sec. 13) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation must evaluate certain applications for deposit insurance for eligibility as a community development financial institution.

(Sec. 14) The Small Business Administration must establish a task force on lending to small business concerns by improving relationships with community development financial institutions, minority depository institutions, and impact banks.

(Sec. 15) The bill also decreases, beginning September 30, 2030, the cap on the surplus funds of the Federal Reserve banks. (Amounts exceeding this cap are deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.)