FDIC Creates Training Videos to Show New Bankers the Ropes

WASHINGTON — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has responded to bankers' calls for more technical assistance with a training module that new officers or board members can use in the comfort of their own home.

As part of a broader outreach initiative with the community banking sector, the FDIC unveiled six online videos Wednesday designed to help prepare new board members for their roles in managing a financial institution. The training videos grew out of meetings FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg held with community bankers last year to hear their input on what the agency could do to help the industry.

"One of the most common suggestions was for more technical assistance," Gruenberg said in a brief video introducing the series.

The six videos — which were posted to the FDIC's YouTube channel — are the first of three installments of the technical assistance videos expected through the course of this year.

The first three clips unveiled Wednesday show a new board member of an institution attending a series of meetings with a more seasoned director to go over the specifics of her new role. The first video focuses on what her basic duties will be, followed by what it means to have the fiduciary responsibility of serving on the board and then a third clip about the process of assessing the impact of a new proposed product on the bank.

In the subsequent three videos, both the new board member and the more experienced director meet with an FDIC examiner to discuss the basics of the supervisory process, including what happens in a risk management exam and in a consumer compliance exam.

The FDIC said it will release a second installment of videos on June 30 intended to be a "virtual version" of the Directors' College programs the agency provides regularly in its regional offices. The virtual training will include modules on interest rate risk, banks' third party relationships, the Community Reinvestment Act, information technology and the Bank Secrecy Act.

The final installment, to be completed before the end of the year, will provide virtual training to bank officers and employees, with more detailed material on topics ranging from fair lending to troubled debt restructurings to flood insurance.

"These videos will provide more in-depth coverage of the topic and will focus on bank management's responsibilities," Gruenberg said.