Description

​

Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) play a vital role in the country’s financial landscape as mission-driven, community-based lenders that intentionally invest in underserved populations. Congress created the MDI designation to preserve and promote the sector, but these banks served their communities long before federal recognition and continue to do so today. 

​

Many Hispanic MDIs were created in response to a banking system that systematically excluded Latinos. Some Hispanic MDIs trace their origins back over a century, born out of a recognition that communities needed financial institutions that understood their language, their culture, and their economic circumstances. 

​

These 29 banks collectively held assets of $158 billion at year-end 2025, with a footprint that spans nine states and territories and consists of over 600 branches serving some of the most economically dynamic and underbanked communities in the country. These institutions are well-capitalized, leverage their deposits for lending, and perform on par with their peers when it comes to key financial indicators. 

​

This report examines Hispanic MDIs across five dimensions: their geographic distribution and institutional history, their role in expanding banking access for underserved populations, their financial performance and resilience, community banking in action through specific lending and service activity, and recommendations to strengthen their capacity and long-term sustainability. 

While these institutions are small compared to the broader banking industry, they are outsized in their community impact. 

​

Download  the 2026 Hispanic MDIs: Creating Generational Wealth 

​

Published September 30, 2026