The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has begun a voluntary survey aimed at assessing institutions' efforts to reach out to underbanked communities.
The survey, mandated by deposit insurance reform legislation enacted in 2006, is to involve a sample of 1,300 FDIC-insured institutions, including up to 30 that will participate in more in-depth case studies, the agency said on Friday.
Reaching out to underserved areas is "a win-win on both sides. It's a market opportunity for the industry, and it obviously holds significant potential benefits for people to get access to insured financial institutions," Vice Chairman Martin Gruenberg said in an interview.
The new survey is to accept volunteered responses until early June, and the agency is expected to publish findings before yearend.
