OCC's Rodney Hood announces restructured financial inclusion unit

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood announced a restructuring of the OCC's Office of External Relations and Strategic Partnerships.

"This work cannot be done in a vacuum," Hood said in a speech at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's Just Economy Conference in Washington, D.C., Thursday. "It takes collaboration and partnership with organizations like the NCRC that play a vital role. Today I am happy to announce the restructuring of the OCC office that will drive this collaborative effort."

Hood said a new Office of External Relations and Strategic Partnerships will be led by his acting Chief of Staff Andrew Moss. Moss also serves as the OCC's national director of Project REACh, Roundtable for Economic Access and Change. 

"Andrew will be responsible for developing our comprehensive financial inclusion strategy," Hood said. "This office will also engage with critical external stakeholders to identify economic barriers, build partnerships, promote education and encourage responsible innovation to foster increased inclusion in the federal banking system."

Hood did not expand on what the new restructuring entailed or meant for the agency. The OCC did not respond to a request for clarification. 

Project REACh was established by the OCC under the previous Trump administration in July 2020 as an effort to convene leaders from the banking industry, business, national community organizations and technology to address structural barriers that prevent underserved populations from succeeding economically. 

Hood said Project REACh would be "refocus[ed]" under his watch.

"Over the last five years, the OCC provided a forum for industry and community leaders to collaborate on developing innovative solutions, primarily centered on areas that were key to community and economic development topics," Hood said. "As we recognize an evolving financial landscape, we need to ensure that all communities are afforded the opportunity for economic inclusion and mobility."

In particular, Hood told conference attendees, many of whom work with Project REACh, the OCC would be exploring ways to use fintech to make affordable credit more accessible for entrepreneurs and gig workers. 

"This means we need to educate consumers about the opportunities and risks related to digital assets and create technical assistance vehicles that could lead to accessing affordable credit for new entrepreneurs and gig economy workers," Hood said. 

Hood said moving forward, Project REACh would focus on "four key workstreams": affordable homeownership, small businesses, financial technology and "geographic-specific efforts." 

In his speech, Hood recognized the wins the initiative has clocked in its short span. He said the OCC's work had helped financial institutions develop affordable credit for consumers lacking a credit file and credit score using untraditional methods of determining creditworthiness. Hood said there were "promising" innovations being tested relating to cash-flow underwriting thanks to the initiative.

Hood said several banks have begun to pilot tools that analyze consumer habits from transactions like deposits and bill pay to "determine their ability to manage debt for credit underwriting purposes." Hood did not name any specific banks but added that several national financial institutions were additionally in the process of piloting a program "to expand the use of alternative, non-FICO data" to determine eligibility to affordable credit lines. 

"The success of this pilot shows how outcomes can be accelerated and expanded through future collaboration and engagement," Hood said.