The purpose of ICBA’s Minority Bank Advisory Council (the Council) is to help shape ICBA advocacy and education solutions that benefit minority banks and the communities they serve.
The Minority Bank Advisory Council was established in 2010 and is made up of a diverse group of bankers from across the country. The Council provides a forum for these volunteer bankers to discuss and review issues effecting minority banks.
The Council works closely with ICBA on a myriad of issues by providing the unique minority bank perspective. They advocate for targeted and flexible regulatory relief and help drive the formation of ICBA’s legislative policy by provide detailed context on how proposed legislation will impact their customers.
The Council also maintains ongoing relationships with bank regulators, members of Congress and serves as a central resource of information. Their experience, expertise, and knowledge is essential to helping underserved communities.
ICBA Secretary
President & CEO, Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Durham, NC
Ponce Bank (MHC)
Bronx, NY
F&M Bank
Guthrie, OK
Industrial Bank
Washington, DC
Liberty Bank and Trust Company
New Orleans, LA
Asian Bank
Philadelphia, PA
ICBA At-Large Director
President/CEO
Canyon Community Bank, Tucson, AZ
Oklahoma City Market
Chickasaw Community Bank, Oklahoma City, OK
SRP Executive, President
NC Bankers Association
Join ICBA to have your voice be heard.
By Jill Sung
As policymakers in Washington begin to confront the unique challenges facing minority depository institutions, I was privileged to recently testify before Congress on behalf of ICBA about the declining number of MDIs and the impact on underserved communities. Fortunately, there are solutions to these challenges.
My family's bank—Abacus Federal Savings Bank in lower Manhattan's Chinatown—was founded by my father in 1984 to serve our local community with the loans that others refused to provide. Many MDIs have similar stories of being formed to empower minority and low-to-moderate-income communities by providing access to credit and financial services. With MDIs continuing to serve a crucial role, their decrease from a high of 215 in 2008 to less than 150 today is a significant concern.
As an MDI, we at Abacus face unique challenges, such as language and cultural barriers. We were the only bank ever charged in the wake of the Wall Street financial crisis of 2008. While we were fully cleared after a five-month jury trial, our exoneration does not erase the attack on our community that the prosecution represented. On top of this, we also deal with the challenges facing all community banks nationwide, including regulatory burdens, historically low interest rates, and competition from taxpayer-subsidized credit unions.
As I testified before the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, policymakers do have opportunities to strengthen the minority banking sector and, hence, low-to-moderate-income communities. For instance, as subcommittee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) develops draft legislation to support MDIs, policymakers can:
Being an MDI is increasingly difficult, but our survival has never been more important to the communities we serve. As laid out in my testimony, there are solutions to help banks like ours continue our missions. Human ingenuity and a commitment to local communities have contributed to our nation's network of MDIs. We can deploy these same principles to help preserve this crucial source of financial services.
Jill Sung is president and CEO of Abacus Federal Savings Bank in New York City and chair of ICBA's Minority Bank Advisory Council and Consumer Financial Services Committee.
