The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has selected Kelly Skalicky, CEO and President, Stearns Bank N.A., along with six additional new committee members, to serve on its Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC). The primary role of the MDIAC is to advise the OCC on the issues and opportunities facing minority depository institutions (MDIs) and help provide the OCC with perspective on the business environment facing MDIs and their communities.

The MDIAC, with its diverse membership and collaborative mission, also provides committee members the opportunity to develop new initiatives for the OCC and non-MDI financial institutions to support and strengthen MDIs to help ensure minority institutions remain strong and vibrant part of the federal banking system.

“I am honored to be chosen to help the efforts of the MDIAC,” said Skalicky. “Minority banks are uniquely qualified in understanding the needs of the businesses and customers in their communities, and the MDIAC plays a pivotal role in promoting the advancement of these institutions.”  

The committee includes officers and directors of minority depository institutions and other depository institutions committed to supporting minority depository institutions of all types, sizes, operating strategies and geographic areas. MDIs frequently provide financial services to low-moderate income and minority communities.

Under Skalicky, Stearns Bank has been dedicated to fostering inclusion and equality, with Stearns Bank achieving unprecedented advancement for women at financial service leadership levels; 70 percent of the senior leaders within Stearns Bank are women – compared to the national average of 22 percent, and 57 percent of Stearns Bank’s Board of Directors are women – compared to the national average of 22.6 percent according to 2020 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index.

She has been recognized as an industry-leading executive by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal’s Women in Business awards and spearheaded the process of developing Stearns Bank’s Small Business Administration lending program to become one of the top 15 Small Business Administration lenders in the country. As a member of the MDIAC, Skalicky will continue to commit and invest resources to support the health and viability of minority depository institutions and the priorities and economic growth of the customers and communities they serve.