Liberty Bank CEO says FDIC helped minority banks secure capital and prompt policy changes

Alden McDonald Junior, CEO of Liberty Bank and Trust Company in New Orleans, said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has played a direct role in supporting minority depository institutions.

"And the FDIC has always been interested in what MDIs are doing and the value of them," McDonald said, describing his work on an FDIC task force and the regulator's outreach to community banks.

McDonald said that when minority banks raised problems that were "affecting lending, they listened and they were willing to change the policies to make it work." He credited that responsiveness with enabling MDIs to secure capital and services from larger banks.

"As a result of that, we've gotten capital from big banks," McDonald said, adding that those relationships have provided both financial resources and advisory services the bank had not previously accessed. He described the partnerships as helping Liberty Bank prepare for changes in the industry expected "over the next 3 years."

McDonald emphasized that FDIC outreach reframed MDIs as viable investments for larger institutions, which in turn led to concrete capital infusions and new service relationships. He said the regulator "was able to point out to them, it's a good investment," and that those connections have produced resources Liberty Bank now uses.

There were no formal votes or actions recorded in this transcript. McDonald framed his remarks as a first-hand account of long-term collaboration with the FDIC and large banks rather than as a description of a specific new program or regulatory change.