On September 25, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu delivered remarks at the “Inclusive Finance for Development: 15 Years of Impact” event hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. Hsu cautioned that financial inclusion alone is insufficient to uplift people noting that access to certain financial products can cause more harm than opportunity. To address this, Hsu advocated for a broader focus on financial health, which encompasses not only access to financial services but also the quality and impact of those services on individuals’ lives.
Hsu promoted the OCC’s Financial Health Vital Signs initiative, which advocated for banks to use financial health measures to assess and support customers in improving their financial health. Hsu then noted that the OCC needs stakeholders to pilot and test these ideas, because “[w]hat gets measured gets managed.”
