The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency launched the Washington, D.C., Roundtable for Economic Access and Change, or DC REACh, expanding its Project REACh efforts to the district.

Project REACh launched in July 2020 to remove barriers to equitable participation in the U.S. economy. The project focuses on enhancing credit visibility, improving affordable housing access, promoting the strength of minority banks, and expanding credit and capital access for minority-owned businesses.

DC REACh marks the second area-specific Project REACh initiative, with the first in Los Angeles.

At a Dec. 13 press briefing to discuss the launch of DC REACh, acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said the agency and the District of Columbia's Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking will work with local community leaders and financial institutions to create "paths towards entrepreneurship and affordable homeownership for District residents."

Hsu said local stakeholders are critical to the project, given that barriers limiting economic access may vary by community.

"A purely national focus could unintentionally offer a one-size-fits-all solution, which may or may not address the needs of a particular community or neighborhood," he said.

During the briefing, Hsu called the structure and approach of Project REACh unique because it enables two things that otherwise might not take place: "collaborative problem identification and problem solving and incubation of ideas and pilots by business and community representatives that can later be implemented on a broader scale than possible by any one institution or organization."

The OCC next plans to launch Project REACh efforts in Detroit, Dallas, Milwaukee and Chicago.