On October 27, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a letter to nearly 100 banks operating in New York requesting that they examine and revise their screening policies for deposit accounts to expand access to mainstream banking to the unbanked and underbanked communities. The letter is part of a 2013 initiative that led to agreements with five banks regarding their screening of applicants seeking to open checking or savings accounts. According to the New York AG’s office, its prior examination revealed that “many financial institutions reject applicants for minor financial missteps, even when those missteps occurred years ago, involved de minimis amounts, or otherwise did not reflect a consumer’s ability to pay responsibly.” In the prior agreements, the five banks committed to taking a number of steps to reform deposit account screening criteria to expand access. The recent letter urges approximately 100 banks to examine their practices and adopt similar measures.