Community Affairs:

Northwest Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People:
Working Together to Move People Ahead
March 27, 2007
Seattle, Washington

On March 27, 2007 in Seattle, Washington, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco with the assistance of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, held the Northwest Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People. The conference convened government officials, financial institutions, community organizations, and others working to reach underserved communities in the Northwest.

The conference addressed various needs across the Northwest region, provided descriptions of models for reaching the unbanked from large and small financial institutions, addressed the role of community-based organizations in reaching the unbanked, and provided updates on state and federal policies. It also provided a forum to share observations and innovative ideas with the convening agencies and other practitioners.

Agenda

Welcome and Conference Overview (Dan Iannicola, Jr., Brad Williamson, John F. Carter)
Regional and Local Perspectives Panel (Craig Nolte, Janet Byrd, Loretta Moesta, Lena Robinson, Dave Sieminski)
Featured Speakers (Kerry Killinger, Rodney Hood)
Effective Models and Practices for Reaching the Unbanked Panel (Louisa Quittman, Tom Berquist, Claudia Lopez, Gabe Mello, Tricia McKay)

Welcome and Conference Overview

Dan Iannicola, Jr.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education
US Department of the Treasury

Mr. Iannicola, Jr. described the Financial Literacy and Education Commission and Treasury's interest in reaching unbanked people.

Brad Williamson
Director of the Division of Banks
Washington State Department of Financial Institutions

Mr. Williamson spoke about the commitment of the Department of Financial Institutions, and the importance to bringing various parties together to address the issues of the unbanked. He described the variety of financial literacy tools used by DFI to reach the diverse needs of the state's residents, and pointed out that multiple solutions are need to address the complex challenge of those who are unbanked.

John F. Carter
Regional Director, San Francisco Region
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Mr. Carter presented statistics about the nation's negative savings rate, and about the level of unbanked and underbanked individuals in the country. He also described some of the ways FDIC partners with private-sector entities and other federal agencies to reach unbanked customers and provide financial education resources.

To see the full "Economic Inclusion: Reaching the Unbanked and Underbanked" presentation, click here.

Regional and Local Perspectives Panel

To see the full panel presentation, click here.

Moderator: Craig Nolte
Regional Manager for Community Development
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Janet Byrd, Executive Director, The Neighborhood Partnership Fund described state-level support for asset building initiatives in Oregon, including a state earned income tax credit and a statewide individual development account initiative funded by an individual income tax credit-initiatives which benefit rural and urban communities in the state.

Loretta Moesta
Chief Executive Officer OUR Federal Credit Union

Ms. Moesta described the steps her small credit union had taken to reach underserved consumers in Eugene, Oregon, including a survey and a study funded by the Treasury's CDFI Fund. She emphasized the small but meaningful steps taken to ensure that the culture of the financial institution was welcoming to low-income individuals.

Lena Robinson
Regional Manager for Community Development
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Ms. Robinson described the Banking on San Francisco initiative, which is being coordinated by the local government, the Federal Reserve Bank, financial institutions, and others to encourage provision of basic accounts to all of the city's low-income unbanked residents. Participating financial institutions commit to certain account features, such as no minimum balance, and acceptance of the Mexican and Guatemalan Matricular cards as primary identification.

Dave Sieminski
Manager, Asset Development Programs
United Way of King County

Mr. Sieminski pointed out that being unbanked is not a permanent state and that many people have accounts, but don't use them to their advantage. He described a number of community services that can help bring such individuals into the financial mainstream, including free tax preparation and Earned Income Tax Credit outreach.

Featured Speakers

Kerry Killinger
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Washington Mutual Inc.

Mr. Killinger spoke about the importance of education for the American economy and the American dream. He pointed out that there is not one "silver bullet" solution to addressing the challenge of unbanked people. He specifically described is institutions outreach to underserved markets, particularly by the availability of free checking accounts with no minimum balance requirements as well as other innovative services.

Rodney Hood
Vice Chairman
National Credit Union Administration

Mr. Hood detailed a number of challenges facing unbanked and underbanked individuals and the size of the market for alternative financial services. He also articulated a regulatory framework that is "effective and not excessive" and manages, rather than avoids risk. This framework allows financial institutions to better serve currently underserved markets. He also described ways the NCUA can assist credit unions in reaching new markets.

Effective Models and Practices for Reaching the Unbanked Panel

To see the full panel presentation, click here.

Moderator: Louisa Quittman
Director, Community Adjustment and Investment Program
US Department of the Treasury

Ms. Quittman presented some findings from the First Accounts grants program conducted by the Treasury Department.

Tom Berquist
Vice President of Marketing
BECU

Mr. Berquist described how his organization provides financial education directly to its members and youth, and partners with community organizations to promote financial literacy and other community development objectives.

Claudia Lopez
Assistant Vice President
Cashmere Valley Bank

Ms. Lopez discussed how her small bank reaches the Hispanic population in central Washington. She discussed promotion, customer service, education, and community involvement as being critical factors in success in this effort.

Gabe Mello
Asset Services Coordinator
Juma Ventures

Mr. Mello talked about factors that are unique to working with unbanked youth. He described using savings and asset building as a way to build skills and motivate young people and striking the balance between accommodating current needs and encouraging their growth.

Tricia McKay
Executive Director
Medina Foundation

Ms. McKay described the low-income credit union that the Foundation is working to develop to serve the Seattle area. The organization did research to support the need for a new financial institution to serve the market, and they have partnered with a number of other organizations in the community in planning the credit union.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created by Congress to charter national banks, to oversee a nationwide system of banking institutions, and to assure that national banks are safe and sound, competitive and profitable, and capable of serving in the best possible manner the banking needs of their customers.