1. What is the Dodd-Frank Section 342(b)(2)(C) diversity standards provision about?

Section 342(b)(2)(C) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) 

required the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (together, the “Agencies”), and 

certain other federal financial agencies to develop standards to assess the diversity policies and practices of 

the entities they regulate.

2. What have the Agencies done to implement Dodd-Frank Act Section 342(b)(2)(C)?

On June 10, 2015, the Agencies published the Final Interagency Policy Statement Establishing Joint Standards 

for Assessing the Diversity Policies and Practices of Entities Regulated by the Agencies (Policy Statement).1 The 

Policy Statement established standards that reflect leading policies and practices and will enable regulated 

entities to assess their diversity policies and practices in the areas of organizational commitment to diversity 

and inclusion; workforce profile and employment practices; procurement and business practices (supplier 

diversity); and practices to promote transparency of organizational diversity and inclusion (collectively, “the 

Standards”).2

3. What entities are covered by the Policy Statement?

The Policy Statement applies to entities that are regulated by the Agencies and by the other federal financial 

agencies that issued the Policy Statement. This includes depository institutions, holding companies and other 

financial service companies whose primary federal financial regulator is the Board, FDIC or OCC. The Agencies 

recognize that entities have unique characteristics, such as governance structure, workforce size, total assets, 

contract volume, geographic location, and community characteristics. The Policy Statement focuses primarily 

on regulated entities with more than 100 employees. Smaller regulated entities are also encouraged to use 

the Standards in a manner appropriate to their unique characteristics.

4. Are regulated entities required to conduct a self-assessment and provide the results to their 

regulators? The Policy Statement states that regulated entities’ self-assessments of their diversity policies and 

practices are voluntary, and submissions of information regarding those self-assessments to their primary 

federal financial regulator are also voluntary.

5. Who will conduct assessments and how frequently will assessments be conducted?

The Policy Statement envisions that a regulated entity should conduct a voluntary self-assessment of its 

diversity policies and practices at least annually.

6. What does a regulated entity do with the information from its self-assessment?

The Policy Statement contemplates that a regulated entity should voluntarily provide information pertaining 

to its self-assessment to the Director of the Office of Women and Minority Inclusion of its primary federal 

financial regulator and publish information pertaining to its efforts on its website or in other appropriate 

forms of communication.
Entities are encouraged to submit self-assessments for the previous calendar year due within 90 days of the 

close of the calendar year. (For example, the previous close calendar year of 2017 will have the deadline of 

March 31, 2018).

7. The Policy Statement defines “diversity” to refer to minorities and women. In conducting its selfassessment, can an entity expand this definition to include other groups?

The Policy Statement does not preclude an entity from using a broader definition of diversity. The language is 

intended to be sufficiently flexible to encompass other groups if an entity wants to define “diversity” more 

broadly.

8. In conducting a self-assessment, is an entity limited to the Standards or can other topics, data, or 

information be considered as well?

A regulated entity’s self-assessment can cover topics and include information and data beyond what is in the 

Policy Statement and Standards. However, Agencies recommend that, at a minimum, a self- assessment cover 

each of the Standards discussed in the Policy Statement.

9. Will an entity’s diversity policies and practices be assessed by its primary regulator?

An entity’s diversity policies and practices will not be assessed by its primary federal financial regulator. The 

Agencies believe the entities are in the best position to assess their own diversity policies and practices, and 

the self-assessments can provide entities with an opportunity to focus on areas of strength and weakness in 

their policies and programs.

10. How will the Agencies use the self-assessment information provided by the regulated entities?

The Agencies may use the self-assessment information provided by the entities to monitor progress and 

trends in the financial services industry with regard to diversity and inclusion in employment and contracting 

activities. The Agencies may highlight successful policies and practices. The Agencies may publish information 

disclosed to them, such as best practices, in any form that does not identify a particular entity or individual. 

Financial institutions submitting information may designate such information as confidential commercial 

information as appropriate, and the FDIC will follow the Freedom of Information Act in the event of requests 

for particular submissions.

11. Will the Agencies provide guidance to institutions if needed?

The Agencies may provide guidance upon request. The Agencies also plan to periodically conduct outreach 

and share leading practices.

12 Will the Agencies conduct examinations to assess the entities’ diversity policies and practices?

The Policy Statement specifically states that the Agencies will not use their examination or supervisory 

processes in connection with the Standards.
13. How is Section 342(b)(2)(C) of the Dodd-Frank Act different from the laws and rules administered 

by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance 

Programs (OFCCP)?

The EEOC and OFCCP administer civil rights laws and regulations that require employers and federal 

contractors to apply policies and practices that prohibit and remedy unlawful discrimination. Section 

342(b)(2)(C) only requires that each agency’s OMWI Director develop standards for assessing the “diversity 

policies and practices” of the entities regulated by that agency. Section 342(b)(2)(C) does not:

(1) change the laws, regulations, or legal standards administered by EEOC and OFCCP; (2) create or modify any 

authority for any agency to enforce a civil rights law or regulation; or (3) require any specific action based on 

the findings of an assessment.

14. Is compliance with EEOC and OFCCP rules, such as completion of EEO-1 reports and Affirmative 

Action Plans, sufficient for conducting the self-assessment?

While entities may leverage their existing EEOC and OFCCP documentation, or any other information, in 

developing and conducting their self-assessments, the Agencies encourage entities to address all of the 

Standards discussed in the Policy Statement when conducting their self-assessments.

1. The Agencies’ standards were published at 80 Fed Reg. 33016. The Board, FDIC, and OCC were joined by the National Credit 

Union Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in issuing the Standards.

2. The Policy Statement also includes a standard for entities to conduct self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices 

annually.