READOUT: Treasury Convenes Discussion on National Financial Inclusion Strategy

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (USDT), led by Assistant Secretary Graham Steele, recently organized a meeting involving civil rights organizations, consumer advocates, and research bodies to discuss financial inclusion challenges faced by underserved communities. This gathering was part of the ongoing efforts by the Treasury to formulate a National Strategy on Financial Inclusion as required by the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act 2023. As strategies on financial inclusion tend to have significant impact upon the operations and requirements of financial institutions, the USDT chose this setting to set out the key pillars for such framework, before advancing a public consultation in this context.
Specifically, participants in the meeting discussed the potential scope of a financial inclusion strategy, ways to track progress in this context, and specific measures to improve financial inclusion in underserved communities. A comprehensive financial inclusion strategy is even more so important as recent measures to ensure economic recovery are evolving and it must be ensured that less priviledged persons can participate in this recovery. Also, successful financial inclusion advances racial equality, so Deputy Secretary of the USDT, Wally Adeyemo.
To conclude, the USDT notes that a corresponding consultation „is forthcoming and will be posted to the Federal Register“ in due course.