2016 Annual Report
I. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The Year in Review
MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION
Consistent with the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC continues to enhance its longstanding commitment to promote diversity and inclusion in employment opportunities and all business areas of the agency. The Office of Minority and Women Inclusion supports the FDIC’s mission through outreach efforts to ensure the fair inclusion and utilization of minority- and women-owned businesses, law firms, and investors in contracting and investment opportunities.
The FDIC relies on contractors to help meet its mission. In 2016, the FDIC awarded 287 (24 percent) contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses (MWOBs) out of a total of 1,181 issued. The FDIC awarded contracts with a combined value of $509 million in 2016, of which 18 percent ($94 million) were awarded to MWOBs, compared to 25 percent for all of 2015. The FDIC paid $112 million of its total contract payments (27 percent) to MWOBs, under 461 active contracts. Referrals to minority- and women-owned law firms (MWOLFs) accounted for 44 percent of all legal referrals in 2016. Total payments to MWOLFs were $11 million in 2016 which is 14 percent of all payments to outside counsel, compared to 12 percent for all of 2015.
In 2016, the FDIC participated in five minority bar association conferences and two stakeholder events in support of maximizing the participation of MWOLFs in FDIC legal contracting. Pursuant to Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires an assessment of legal contractors’ internal workforce diversity practices, the Legal Division refined and continued to implement a system of compliance reviews of the top ten billing law firms (both majority-owned and MWOLFs). In addition, the FDIC advised the National Association of Credit Unions, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, and State Farm Life Insurance Company on developing MWOLF outreach programs that mirror the FDIC’s.
In 2016, the FDIC participated in a total of 38 business expos, one-on-one matchmaking sessions, and panel presentations. At these events, FDIC staff provided information and responded to inquiries regarding FDIC business opportunities for minorities and women. In addition to targeting MWOBs and MWOLFs, these efforts also targeted veteran-owned and small, disadvantaged businesses. Vendors were provided with the FDIC’s general contracting procedures, prime contractors’ contact information, and forecasts of possible upcoming solicitations. Also, vendors were encouraged to register through the FDIC’s Contractor Resource List (a principal database for vendors interested in doing business with the FDIC).
During 2016, the FDIC’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) and the Division of Resolutions and Receiverships (DRR) collaborated to present three FDIC-sponsored asset purchaser workshops that were marketed extensively to minority- and women-owned investors and companies interested in learning about DRR’s sales processes. DRR speakers with strong backgrounds in their respective programs provided details on the various tools used by DRR to market assets and presented information to attendees on how to participate in the transactions and bid on assets offered for sale.
The asset purchaser workshops were held in San Juan, PR, Memphis, TN, and Jackson, TN. The events were attended by 76 prospective investors and included a special focus on owned real estate (ORE) investment opportunities to support a DRR auction of real estate properties scheduled after the outreach workshop. A segment regarding contracting services was also part of the event. Information regarding the Minority and Women Outreach Program can be found on the FDIC’s website at www.fdic.gov/mwop.
In addition, OMWI worked closely with the OMWIs of the OCC, FRB, CFPB, NCUA, and SEC to implement further Section 342(b)(2)(C) of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires the agencies to develop standards to assess the diversity policies and practices of the entities they regulate. After finalizing of the Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies, the OMWI agencies received approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on February 18, 2016, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, to collect information from their regulated entities. Regulated entities were notified of the collection approval through the Federal Register on July 13, 2016, and they may now submit self- assessments of their diversity policies and practices to the OMWI Director of their primary federal financial regulator.
To facilitate uniform and systematic collection of information, OMWI developed and sought public comment on a diversity self-assessment template for regulated entities to use as they voluntarily assess their diversity policies and practices. When the comment period closed, OMWI requested approval to use the template from OMB. In the meantime, some regulated entities began submitting voluntary self-assessments to the FDIC OMWI Director in October 2016. The FDIC plans to use self-assessment information provided by its regulated entities to monitor progress and trends in the financial services industry, and to identify and publicize promising diversity policies and practices.