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​​Minority Depository Institution Preservation

​​​​Credit unions designated as minority depository institutions provide safe, affordable financial services to members and communities who are often unserved or underserved by financial institutions. In this way, MDIs help individuals and families build greater financial security and make investments in local economies.

The NCUA’s Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion offers various forms of support for these credit unions through its Minority Depository Institutions Preservation Program. This can include technical assistance; training; chartering assistance; and, if the credit union also has a low-income designation, access to grants, loans, and the agency’s MDI mentoring program.

The MDI Preservation Program is designed to preserve and promote eligible minority credit unions as prescribed by Section 367 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. To learn more about the program, please review the final Minority Depository Institution Preservation Program Interpretive Ruling and Policy Statement 13-1 (You will be leaving NCUA.gov and accessing a non-NCUA website. We encourage you to read the NCUA's exit link policies. (opens new page).) .

MDI Awareness

MDI Success Story

A Minority Depository Institution in the Southwest worked with a local housing non-profit to prevent a member from falling into homelessness. The credit union provided a mortgage loan when the member's home purchase was on the verge of falling through.

The member had sold their mobile home and was expecting to close on a new home, having gotten approval for a loan from a mortgage company. However, the approval was rescinded at the last minute, because the member held an individual taxpayer identification number, which is issued by the federal government to people who need a taxpayer ID but do not have a Social Security number. This was despite the member's good credit history.

The credit union's mortgage department took the application right away and contacted the title company to verify that the title to the home was clear. Mortgage department staff also contacted the realtor to request an extension on the purchase agreement to give the credit union time to process the loan and successfully arranged an extension of the mobile home sale. The member was overwhelmed with gratitude and was able to close on their home.

Qualifying As A Minority Depository Institution

The NCUA defines a minority depository institution as a federally insured credit union in which a majority of its current members, its board of directors, and the community it services, as designated in its charter, fall within any of the eligible minority groups as described in Section 308 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (You will be leaving NCUA.gov and accessing a non-NCUA website. We encourage you to read the NCUA's exit link policies. (opens new page).) : any Black American, Asian American, Hispanic American, or Native American.

Credit unions self-designate as MDIs by answering the minority questions on the CUOnline Profile. The NCUA encourages credit unions to determine whether they qualify for MDI certification.

Credit unions with questions about the MDI designation or the NCUA’s preservation program can review the information on this page or contact the Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion at curemdi@ncua.gov.

MDI Resources

Annual Reports to Congress

Section 367 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires NCUA to establish a program to preserve credit unions designated as minority depository institutions and to submit the following reports to Congress on our efforts to comply with this mandate.

Year Report
2022 Get Report
2021 Get Report
2020 Get Report
2019 Get Report
2018 Get Report
2017 Get Report
2016 Get Report
2015 Get Report
2014 Get Report
2013 Get Report

Non-NCUA Resources

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