National Bankers Community Alliance (NBCA), the 501(c)(3) arm of the National Bankers Association, announced the launch of its MDI ConnectTech digitization initiative for Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) at the Alliance for Innovative Regulation's The Future of Minority Depository Institutions on November 30, 2022. With $10 million in leading grant support from the Citi Foundation through its Community Finance Innovation Fund, MDI ConnectTech will work with minority-owned and -operated banks to develop and integrate technology solutions that multiply their lending capacity and that increase the access to and the affordability of financial services to underserved customers.
Since the Freedman's Savings Bank's founding in 1865, MDIs have continued to serve as the cornerstone of efforts to narrow the racial wealth gap. As digital capabilities increasingly define financial services, the MDIs' digital divide has worsened and exacerbated racial inequality. Implementing technology-enabled products and services is critical for community banks to remain competitive and build wealth within low-to-moderate (LMI) income and underserved communities by providing mortgages, small business loans, and access to financial services.
MDI ConnectTech provides MDIs with the ability to modernize, digitize, and scale. By investing in technology and talent, MDI ConnectTech lowers the affordability barrier and enables minority banks to remain sustainable financial epicenters for economically vulnerable consumers and small businesses.
“Technology represents an increasingly large part of the daily financial lives of individuals and families around the U.S.,” said Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development at Citi and President of the Citi Foundation. “By supporting NBCA’s groundbreaking MDIConnect Tech, the Citi Foundation aims to accelerate the growth of systems and services that meet the evolving digital needs of consumers, small businesses and communities.”
The $10 million in leading grant support builds on the Citi Foundation and Citi’s long history of promoting financial inclusion and will help bolster the work of community-based financial institutions that have been an economic lifeline for communities across the U.S. hardest hit by the economic impact of the pandemic.
A scalable digital transformation strategy for MDIs rests in the sector's collective strength, as they are better positioned to serve communities of color. MDIs have worked to close the wealth gap for over a century by providing financial services, mortgages, and small business loans to minority, LMI, and underserved communities — when other financial institutions would not. "The collaboration with the Citi Foundation strengthens the National Bankers Community Alliance's mission to ensure MDIs have the resources and tools needed to survive and thrive,” said Nicole A. Elam, Executive Director of National Bankers Community Alliance and President and CEO of the National Bankers Association.
Read more on the MDI ConnectTech Digitization Program here: nationalbankers.org/mdiconnecttech
National Bankers Community Alliance (NBCA)
National Bankers Community Alliance (NBCA) is the nonprofit arm of the National Bankers Association (NBA), the leading voice for the country’s Minority Depository Institutions whose membership includes Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and women-owned and -operated banks across the country. To continue NBA’s support of MDIs, the NBCA was founded to provide programs and services to support MDIs and the communities they serve to close the racial wealth gap. https://www.nationalbankers.org/alliance
Citi Foundation The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach deploys the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com