The FDIC has issued a call for comments on the agency's evaluation of the economic inclusion potential of mobile financial services. Current regulations, the CRA in particular, generally do not consider the emerging benefits of mobile financial services to underserved consumers who lack branch access. This has created challenges for banks attempting to overcome CRA-based objections to merger and acquisition plans. Before the emergence of mobile banking, banks used branch mapping to overcome these objections. But now, many banks are downsizing their branch footprints, making it harder to overcome CRA objections. By encouraging the FDIC to consider mobile banking strategies, bankers hope to create a new avenue for proving that they impact underserved consumers. Learn more about the request for comments here.