In episode nine of Financial Inclusion & Beyond, we spoke with Grovetta Gardineer, the Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. As a veteran bank regulator with more than three decades of experience in banking supervision, policy and regulation, Grovetta is a well-known leader and expert in the space of compliance and community programs.

We sat down to discuss lessons learned from the COVID crisis, financial inclusion challenges here in the United States, as well as the role public policy and regulation should play. Key takeaways from the discussion include:

The US financial system has failed to provide equitable access for people of color. The barriers to financial access have prevented excluded populations, African Americans in particular, to achieve a healthy financial life and to build generational wealth.
To tackle inclusion challenges, the OCC and other regulatory agencies have taken concrete steps to engage in a collaborative effort, Project REACh. The project focuses on three broad areas: bringing so-called "credit invisible" populations back into an inclusive financial system, increasing affordable housing, and recognizing the crucial role that minority depository institutions play in the United States.
This effort must leverage the strength of various stakeholders, including all types of financial institutions, businesses, and community groups. For example, fintech firms' approach to alternative credit scoring can provide opportunities as they partner with innovative banks.
While there are benefits offered from collecting financial data, strict privacy guidelines and expectations need to be established to ensure consumer confidence and trust of the financial system.

Join Our Live Event May 18!

We will be hosting a live virtual event to mark the release of Financial inclusion & Beyond, the fourth season of our Pacific Exchanges podcast with a panel of four experts who appear in the series. We'll discuss their lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis and how the pandemic has underscored the importance of building inclusive financial systems that enable everyone's financial health and promote equal opportunities. Details and registration link here.

Grovetta Gardineer Reflects upon Inclusion Challenges in the United States