ALEXANDRIA, Va.—There were 529 federally insured credit unions designated as minority depository institutions (MDIs) at the end of 2018, according to NCUA data.
To be designated as an MDI, a credit union must affirm that more than 50% of its current members, eligible potential members, and board of directors are from one of the four minority categories specified under Section 308 of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act.
Thirty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported having MDIs. The states with the most MDIs were Texas, California, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, and Louisiana, reported Keith Leggett, the former senior vice president and senior economist at the ABA, is his analysis of the data.
“In aggregate, MDIs serve 3.9 million members and manage $38.5 billion in assets. Texas, by far, has the highest number of members with more than 1.5 million followed by Hawaii, California, Maryland, and New Mexico. Hawaii, California, Maryland, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, and North Carolina, each have more-than $1 billion in aggregate MDI assets,” Leggett said.
According to NCUA, the agency during 2018 approved the chartering and field of membership expansions for 28 MDIs, reported Leggett.
Also during 2018, 21 MDIs merged into other credit unions with five of the continuing credit unions being MDIs.