Recent News
For people who need emergency money quickly, payday lenders have long been among the few available options. They are ubiquitous in the U.S., with an estimated 13,700 storefronts in 2018, many in low-income and Black communities. Although 18 states and Washington, D.C., have strong interest rate caps on payday lending, in others some lenders charge annual interest rates that surpass 600 percent. But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inequalities it exposed and exacerbated, there is a renewed focus on the need to counter payday lenders by bringing better, fairer banking services—... Read more
Southern Bancorp, a community development financial institution in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, is using an infusion of cash from Square to develop niche digital banking services for segments of its customer base. Square made a multimillion-dollar investment in Southern as part of a larger $100 million pledge to support minority and underserved communities, the bank announced this month. With this funding, Southern intends to create customized apps, each designed to address a specific situation for a well-defined underserved group. “We think the true growth opportunity for our bank is digital,”... Read more
The California State Assembly recently voted to approve a plan to create a state-branded bank account that would be offered to all Californians regardless of income, wealth, race or ethnicity, or immigration status. Dubbed the “BankCal” program, the accounts would come with a debit card, no fees, no overdraft, no minimum balances, direct deposit and other perks. The program would contract with private banks and credit unions to actually hold the deposits and facilitate transactions, but the state would set the terms and serve as the public face for BankCal. Banking industry organizations... Read more
Overdraft fees, initially marketed as a convenience, have proliferated in the past quarter-century. Rather than bouncing a check or other payment, these programs reassure customers that a bill won't go unpaid or an emergency purchase won't be denied — even though they can turn a $3 coffee into a $38 extravagance.
Since then, overdraft protections have become known as an aggressive way to siphon fees from consumers. Although customers must opt in to overdraft protections for debit or A.T.M. withdrawals, banks don't need their permission to charge fees for online payments or checks... Read more
Casey Christopher is a "CEO," but not the one you're familiar with. As "chief empowerment officer" at Manhattan-based Quontic Bank, she has a unique role in catalyzing innovation from the bottom up. As a community development financial institution, Quontic also has an express mission of reaching underserved market segments—for example, constructing credit products that work well for gig economy workers and immigrants whose finances may not fit standard underwriting models. This kind of financial empowerment translates into employee empowerment too—it calls on a whole team to feel ownership... Read more
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis and its disproportionate impact on communities of color, the median white household in America held nearly eight times the wealth of the median Black household in 2019, reports Brookings Institution. While President Biden and his administration have unveiled plans to help close this gap, which has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, many people have also called on corporate America and its leaders to take a stand in speaking out against racial inequality and economic injustice. Kevin Cohee of OneUnited Bank is among those interviewed.
Carver Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a certified Minority Depository Institution, and Bank of America Corporation announced today that they have closed a Senior Secured Social Impact Revolving Credit Facility with BlackRock's Alternative Solutions Group. BlackRock Alternative Solutions manages private market portfolios and invests across alternative asset classes, sectors and geographies on behalf of its clients. The transaction represents the first time that Carver has participated in a subscription line facility and is among the first-of-its-kind... Read more
Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares Inc. has committed $40 billion toward a plan designed to improve financial opportunities for clients and communities across its footprint, with a focus on affordable housing, small business loans and increased capital to historically disadvantaged and low- to moderate-income areas. After meeting with 400 community organizations, the bank identified racial and social equity, consumer and home lending, small business and community development lending and investing as key areas of need in its expanded 2021 community plan, according to a news release... Read more
Top regulators and leading Democrats at a June 15 conference emphasized their commitment to increasing financial services access for the underbanked and supporting minority depository institutions, or MDIs. Heads of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency attended the conference hosted by Georgetown Law and the Black Economic Alliance, commemorating Juneteenth. Both leading regulators expressed a desire to stay committed to closing wealth gaps and addressing racial inequity through the banking system. Top Democrats in Congress also spoke at the... Read more
The Climate Safe Lending Network in partnership with the Finance Innovation Lab are pleased to announce that applications for the Climate Safe Lending Fellowship are now open. The Climate Safe Lending Fellowship is a six-month leadership program for banking professionals who are advancing the climate agenda within their institutions. Right now, banks are faced with the enormous opportunity and urgent challenge of financing a just transition to a net-zero carbon future. This requires leadership from within to transform strategy, operations and culture in service of a climate safe world. The... Read more
A long-time Jackson resident, Penny Lee has lived in her current home for more than 20 years. But over time, the home where she consistently hosted her family began to need repairs she couldn't afford. The roof leaked, porch rails were broken and there were holes in the walls from years of grandchildren playing within the home. Miss Lee had handymen patch things until a $7,000 Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) subsidy from BankPlus and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) funded more substantial repairs including a new roof, trim, porch railings and repairs to interior... Read more
Someday soon, if not today, you may be able to find a banking platform that's designed specifically for you and those like you. A growing number of banks and fintechs are using digital banking platforms to meet the unique challenges and needs of individual communities. There are banks and fintechs that offer banking platforms for Black Americans, the LGBTQ+ community, disabled Americans, doctors, freelancers—the list goes on. Some of these institutions are newcomers on the scene. Others have been around for decades but are now able to leverage digital technology to help their communities... Read more
Sunrise Banks is proud to introduce the NextGen Banker podcast, which will launch its first episode on Monday, June 14. Hosted by Sunrise CEO David Reiling, NextGen Banker focuses on the future of finance in a world that's increasingly tech- and values-driven. Reiling will talk with the changemakers leading the way to a more equitable, environmentally conscious and transparent banking future. The show will be hosted by Provoke FM, which is also home to the Breaking Banks podcast, and will air twice a month. Find NextGen Banker on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and everywhere else you get your... Read more
Darrin Williams, CEO of Southern Bancorp Inc. in Little Rock, Ark., has been appointed to the board of directors of the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Williams will fill the unexpired portion of a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2023. Members of the St. Louis Fed's board of directors and those of its branch boards in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn., are familiar with the economic and credit conditions of their respective regions. Their observations—along with the economic data and information gathered and analyzed by St. Louis Fed staff—... Read more
OneUnited Bank, the largest Black-owned bank and first and only Black-owned digital bank in the country, is proud to announce its OneTransaction Conference. The free state-of the art virtual financial conference is focused on closing the racial wealth gap and will be held on June 19, 2021 or Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. Over 20,000 have already registered for the conference. The #OneTransaction Campaign encourages Black families to select One Transaction to accomplish in 2021 and provides action steps to accomplish... Read more
New Orleans bankers plan to buy Tri-State Bank, ending the Memphis firm's 75-year run as the city's high-profile Black-owned bank. Liberty Bank and Trust Co., the nation's third largest Black-owned bank, and Tri-State released a statement Thursday night disclosing the proposed deal. Regulators and Tri-State shareholders must approve the merger for the deal to proceed. Tri-State, founded in 1946 by insurance executives, stood out as a bank smoothing the way for Black Americans during the period of integration in the 1960s and 1970s but struggled in later decades as a Downtown-oriented bank... Read more
Creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace is the right thing to do — and research shows it's good for business. These leaders have championed DEI in their organization as CEOs, chief diversity officers and VPs, operations and human resource directors and as advocates and volunteers. They've done the work to help people have uncomfortable conversations, implemented creative and effective trainings and focused on equity and justice in their communities. Included is Kenneth Kelly, Chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank.
More banks are pursuing nonbank acquisitions as they hunt for new sources of income at a time when rock-bottom interest rates are suppressing revenue from lending. Though traditional merger-and-acquisition activity has picked up of late, some banks are steering clear of buying other banks, instead eyeing deals for asset managers, insurance firms and other businesses that generate the bulk of their income from fees. United Community Banks in Blairsville, Georgia, for example, this month agreed to buy FinTrust Capital Partners, an investment advisor in Greenville, South Carolina, in a deal... Read more
When you put your money in a savings account, it doesn't just sit there waiting for you when you need it. Banks are actively investing that money to finance other ventures to keep growing their funds. What they put your money in might not always be super clear—and different banks have different reasons for investing. But, in general, many of them are still bankrolling fossil fuels, despite the industry's impacts on the health of people and the planet. Well-established green banking option are Atmos, National Cooperative Bank, and Southern Bancorp. Mighty Deposits also has a detailed... Read more
To address the racial wealth gap resulting from institutional racism and under-investment in Black communities, social entrepreneur Tim Lampkin started Higher Purpose Co. in 2016. Now his team supports a vibrant and growing membership of Black entrepreneurs, farmers, and artists across the Mississippi who, together, are shifting economic outcomes of Black communities in a sustained way. Forbes spoke to Tim about how he and HPC are reimagining loan collateral and business funding and creating community wealth, plus new developments on the horizon.