Speech  |  November 2, 2022

Remarks by FDIC Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg at the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders

In remarks to the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL) at the National Press Club in Washington today, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg highlighted the findings of FDIC’s just-released 2021 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. 

“The FDIC’s mission is to ensure public confidence in the nation’s banking system. That confidence is bolstered when as many people as possible are connected to and benefit from their relationships with insured institutions,” said Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg. “While we appear to have made meaningful progress since the inception of the survey, we are still far from ensuring that Americans of all backgrounds can fully participate in and benefit from our nation’s banking system and economy.”

Acting Chairman Gruenberg noted FDIC’s latest national survey finds significant progress has been made to include more families in the U.S. banking systems. Those findings include:

• Despite unprecedented economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 96 percent of U.S. households were banked in 2021.
• The percentage of U.S. households that are unbanked fell to 4.5 percent in 2021, the lowest national unbanked rate since the FDIC survey began in 2009.
• While the racial/ethnic gap among unbanked households has improved, Black and Hispanic households are still significantly more likely to lack a bank or credit union account.

The FDIC does not send unsolicited e-mail. If this publication has reached you in error, or if you no longer wish to receive this service, please unsubscribe.