This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

In the world of finance, credit unions, banks and securities firms are constantly navigating choppy waters. During a recent discussion, Todd M. Harper, Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, shed light on the challenges and opportunities that credit unions face. Held at the Brookings Institution, the event covered the state of credit unions, regulatory efforts, and the unforeseen hurdles that may lie ahead for the financial sector. At the heart of the discussion was the role of credit unions in serving specific communities, with Harper acknowledging and highlighting the unique and diverse nature of credit union membership. These  range from employer-focused credit unions to those with multiple membership common bonds. At the event, a special focus was placed on minority depository institutions (MDIs). These common bond connections (typically based either on employment or community ties) shape the outlook of credit unions. This requires credit unions have flexibility ...

Under Dodd/Frank,  " six federal financial regulatory agencies – the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency –" must, by law, develop standards and an approach to assessing the diversity policies and practices of entities they regulate. This means looking at diversity at all banks, investment firms, and credit unions. All of them. Each of these agencies will develop a way to determine if the policies of the entities they regulate are fair, or at least, inclusive. They are asking for comments on this. I suggest you comment, and have even drafted proposed comment text for you at:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dVF9yIbI5SU_QkiwuNFg3sOkImTdXnUk5J6-pEm0ZM/edit?usp=sharing Comments are due by Feb. 7, 2014. Submit them via email by going to: Co...

According to recent news reports, the "Credit Union National Association (CUNA) has written NCUA's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion to urge the agency implement one of the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act with as little additional reporting requirements as possible." The referenced section of Dodd/Frank requires regulators to report on diversity at the financial institutions they firms regulate. This is an entirely new reporting requirement, and the first time a diversity reporting rule has been applied so broadly in an industry. This is also the first time a federal financial institution regulator has been tasked with this work. Credit Union executives met with NCUA's OMWI office director, Tawana James, "on February 29 and..have written her a letter on March 26 expressing concern about a possible requirement to assess the diversity practices of credit union contractors and suppliers." We will cover this and other recent Section 342 development...

Last week, the national Credit Union Administration released it's Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan for 2012-2016. The Plan is an outline of the diversity goals of the Agency. NCUA is responsible for the supervision of the nation's credit unions. The plan is a competent strategic document, but does not address diversity at the entities regulated by the NCUA. A copy of the plan can be found at: http://www.ncua.gov/about/Documents/Agenda%20Items/AG20120315Item2B.pdf