"At the state/territory level, MDIs are overrepresented in some places and underrepresented in others when compared to the banking industry overall. Of the 273 bank branches in Puerto Rico in 2022, all but two were MDIs, making up almost 18% of all MDI bank branches in the U.S. Almost a quarter of all MDI branches are located in California, compared to just seven percent of non-MDI branches. MDIs are also more highly concentrated in Texas, New York, and Oklahoma than non-MDI branches. All of the MDI branches in Puerto Rico were Hispanic American owned or operated. Almost half of all MDI branches are located in just five metropolitan areas - Los Angeles, San Juan, New York, Miami, and McAllen."
Description
Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) are mission-driven banks that provide capital and credit to marginalized communities nationwide. This report examines how the MDI sector has evolved in the last decade, explores the characteristics of the communities served by MDIs, and analyzes 2021 loan originations from a small sample of MDI banks. The lending analysis also overlays Moody’s data, allowing us to explore economic and climate trends in the communities MDIs serve around the nation.
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Download Minority Depository Institutions: State of Knowledge, Sector Summary & Lending Activity, and Impact,
2010 - 2022
The Early Bird Special ends on July 1, 2023.
Topline findings from our analysis of the overall MDI sector include the following:
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Most MDI branches (62 percent) are located in zip codes with poverty rates higher than the national average, compared to just 38 percent of non-MDI branches.
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The median MDI branch is located in a zip code that is 49% non-white, compared to 21% for non-MDI banks.
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25% of MDI branches are located in zip codes, in which the MDI is the only bank with a physical presence in that zip code. This means that MDIs are the only bank branches in 174 zip codes that are home to 3.5 million people.
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Deposits held at MDI branches grew by 110% from $134 billion in 2010 to $282 billion in 2022
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Assets at MDIs grew by 34% from 2010-2022, from $246 billion to $329 billion. A significant amount of that growth occurred between 2019 and 2021.
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Zip codes with an MDI branch have higher climate risk exposure, especially for heat and wind risk, but also for flood and fire risk.
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Topline findings from our analysis of the lending sample include the following:
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The ten banks in the sample deployed 3.38 billion dollars in more than 6,000 zip codes in 2021.
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These banks collectively issued more than 20,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans to support small businesses amid the pandemic.
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Over half (52.5%) of the population is a minority in the zip codes that received lending dollars, and slightly more than 77% of all loan dollars flowed to zip codes, with a minority population share that was 52.5% or higher.
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More than 70% of loan dollars went to zip codes that have higher poverty rates than the nation when measured at both 100% and 125% of the federal poverty line.
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Places that received lending dollars have higher rates of recorded and forecasted rates of unemployment and bankruptcy and greater risk from climate change compared to the nation as a whole.
Implications
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MDIs continue to serve a crucial role in increasing financial inclusion for underserved individuals and communities including by supporting small businesses during times of crisis.
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While MDIs have increased assets and deposits substantially due to government programs like Treasury’s ECIP and equity investments from major banks, the MDI sector is still substantially undercapitalized. Increasing capital and deposits will allow MDIs to deepen their social impact through increased lending.
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Given the outsized climate risk facing the communities that MDIs serve, MDIs and other mission-driven lenders should be prioritized in climate policy and green finance.
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Acknowledgements:
John Hopkins University (especially the 21st Century Cities Initiative and undergraduate interns Ted Murren and Sam Oberly), Rutgers University (especially Amine Ouazad), Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s RMS (especially Gregory Robinson and Jordan Byk), UpMetrics (especially Kyle Lukianuk, Eric Fabre, and Remy Garderet), VISA, Wells Fargo Foundation, JPMorgan Chase.
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