Today, the Board is considering a proposed budget for 2022 that will support the efforts we started in 2018 to update the FDIC’s antiquated IT infrastructure, foster responsible innovation in the financial services sector, and develop new technologies that will transform FDIC operations. The initiatives funded by this budget will provide new tools and capabilities to our employees so they can focus on the mission.
The proposed budget continues to support our people, maintaining personnel resources necessary to respond to any changing conditions in FDIC-insured institutions. FDIC-insured banks have been resilient through the pandemic, with strong capital, liquidity, and asset quality. As we continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic and inflation, the FDIC must be prepared to respond quickly to any contingency.
This budget also makes long-overdue investments in our facilities. Earlier this year, I announced an effort to reduce our wasteful dependence on leased facilities in the Washington, DC area – a plan that will save nearly 11 million dollars per year. To realize these savings, we must make investments in FDIC infrastructure and building systems that have reached the end of their useful life. In many cases, these updates are long past due.
At the same time we are making needed improvements to our buildings, we will also be updating office designs to ensure our workforce has the facilities and collaboration tools needed to meet mission requirements in the new, hybrid work environment. By reducing the footprint in our field offices and entering longer-term leases, we will be able to capture savings that pay for field office modernization in about six years.
I thank the CFO team and the Divisions and Offices for their efforts in constructing this prudent budget, and I encourage my colleagues to support the proposal.