Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Regulated Entities by the Agencies

Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Act) required the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and other Federal financial regulators (together, Agencies and separately, Agency) each to establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) to be responsible for all Agency matters relating to diversity in management, employment, and business activities. The Act also instructed each Agency’s OMWI Director to develop standards for assessing the diversity policies and practices of entities regulated by that Agency. The Agencies worked together to develop joint standards (Joint Standards) and on June 10, 2015, they jointly published the “Final Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies” (Policy Statement). See 80 Fed. Reg. 33016. The Joint Standards contain information collections that fall within the scope of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). First, the Joint Standards include “Practices to Promote Transparency of Organizational Diversity and Inclusion,” which contemplate that a regulated entity makes certain information available to the public annually on its Web sites or through other appropriate communications methods, in a manner reflective of the entity’s size and other characteristics. The specific information referenced in these standards is (a) the entity’s diversity and inclusion strategic plan; (b) its policy on its commitment to diversity and inclusion; (c) its progress toward achieving diversity and inclusion in its workforce and procurement activities; and (d) opportunities available at the entity that promote diversity. Second, the Joint Standards address “Entities’ Self-Assessments,” which contemplate that a regulated entity, in a manner reflective of its size and other characteristics, (a) conducts an annual, voluntary self-assessment of its diversity policies and practices; (b) monitors and evaluates its performance under its diversity policies and practices on an ongoing basis; (c) provides information pertaining to its self-assessment to the OMWI Director of its primary federal financial regulator; and (d) publishes information pertaining to its efforts with respect to the Joint Standards. In order to facilitate the self-assessment and information collection described in the “Entities’ Self-Assessment” Joint Standards discussed above, the OCC developed the “Diversity Self-Assessment Template for OCC-Regulated Entities” (Template).

The latest form for Joint Standards for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Regulated Entities by the Agencies expires 2023-01-31 and can be found here.