ICBA encouraged federal banking regulators to take several steps to increase services to unbanked and underbanked households.
ICBA Comments: In a letter to the agencies following a Government Accountability Office report on improving access, ICBA called on the agencies to:
Integrate their independent efforts into a unified, interagency campaign.
Provide the banking industry with more consistent guidance.
Fully utilize their innovation offices.
Fed Survey: ICBA’s comments came the same day as the Federal Reserve reported that self-reported financial well-being reached its highest level since the Fed began its household survey in 2013.
Results: According to the fourth quarter 2021 survey of 11,000 adults:
78% reported either doing okay or living comfortably financially.
Financial well-being also increased among all included racial and ethnic groups.
Parents reported large gains in financial well-being.
Those who say they would cover a $400 emergency expense using cash or its equivalent increased to 68%, the highest level since the survey began in 2013.
