News
More than a million Americans have been effectively blacklisted from big banks because they overdrew their accounts or bounced a check. Regulators say that the banks are using private databases intended to weed out serial fraudsters to screen out potential customers, swelling the ranks of the unbanked. Next week, New York’s attorney general will become the first government authority to take aim at how banks use the databases when they announce that Capital One has agreed to fundamentally change the way it uses the largest database, ChexSystems. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is also monitoring banks' use of the databases.
A guide released by the American Bankers Association contains communications strategies for publicizing housing impact stories, from press releases to social media posts. Among the topics covered in the guide: building relationships with local reporters; sending press contacts complete, concise news releases; issuing media advisories to attract attention for big announcements; submitting op-eds; engaging followers on social media; issuing fact sheets and making good use of photography. One bonus tip overlooked in the guide: Submit your impact stories for inclusion in the CDBA Newsflash.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has launched a new inquiry into the use of mobile financial services. As part of the inquiry, the Bureau is exploring how mobile technologies are impacting unbanked and underserved consumers with limited access to traditional banking systems. A recent study by the Federal Reserve found that one-third of cell phone users and more than half of smartphone users access their bank or credit union account through their devices. As part of its investigation, the CFPB has issued a request for information seeking comment from any member of the public with experience providing or using mobile financial service products. The comment period will end September 9, 2014.
New real-estate crowdfunding sites offer individuals the chance to invest in everything from large developments to distressed mortgages. Many of the platforms were launched in the wake of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012, which eased restrictions on fundraising by small companies as well as restrictions on advertising investment opportunities to the general public. To date, the sites have raised more than $135 million in debt and equity for real-estate deals. Real estate is proving popular among crowdfunders because it is a tangible asset that people can look at and visit. The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently working on new rules that will apply to the small investments.
"Spent: Looking for Change," a new documentary released online by American Express, is a Frontline-style exposé of the high costs of living outside the traditional financial system. The documentary makes its case by following four families who are unbanked or under-banked and must use alternatives like payday lenders, pawn shops and car title lenders. American Express hopes the documentary will initiate a coalition for solving the problems of people forced to use nontraditional financial services. The documentary is also part of American Express's recent push toward providing financial services to the unbanked, which has included the release of their low-cost Bluebird prepaid card.
The Center for Financial Services Innovation organized a scavenger hunt earlier this month intended to give several dozen participants from the financial industry, non-profits and advocacy organizations first-hand experience of alternative financial services. Each group of four participants received two checks: a payroll check for $105 and a personal check for $15. Using only the proceeds, the groups completed a series of financial transactions including executing a money transfer, buying a money order to pay a bill, obtaining a prepaid debit card and inquiring into payday loans. "The question I found myself asking... [was] whether it was the best we could do for families who are already operating with so little margin for error," journalist Ronald Brownstein reflects.
Biloxi resident William Magee's floorboards have been buckling dangerously since becoming waterlogged during Hurricane Katrina. But Magee will soon have brand new flooring thanks to a partnership of The First, A National Banking Association, Hope Community Development Agency and The Peoples Bank. The First and Peoples are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, allowing them to use FHLB Dallas' Special Needs Assistance Program (SNAP) grants to assist 17 income-qualified, special-needs homeowners with repairs. "We continue to use SNAP year after year because it truly changes the lives of the recipients for the better," said Jerome Brown, SVP and director of community development at The First.
A Supreme Court decision that suggests limits on Native American tribes' off-reservation authority has triggered debate over whether online payday lenders who claim tribal exemptions to state law will be affected. The ruling states that although states cannot sue tribes, they could instead pursue individual members for offering loans that violate state laws, including those that restrict payday lending. Consumer advocates hailed the decision as a new tool for stopping online lenders who claim Native exemptions. But other analysts argue the ruling is limited because it does not address the core ambiguity of the practice -- whether or not the lenders are operating on tribal territory when they make online loans.
The redevelopment of a historic 126,000 square-foot building in Detroit's Capitol Park neighborhood is expected to be completed by the end of the year with $38.5 million in financing from a group including Urban Partnership Bank. The building will be turned into new office space for the Archdiocese of Detroit, 56 loft-style apartment units and first-floor retail. The financing is part of a public-private partnership made possible by federal New Markets and historic tax credits and state historic and brownfield tax credits. Beechwood, Ohio-based Liberty Bank NA, Chase Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, the Chicago-based National Community Investment Fund, Invest Detroit and Lansing-based Develop Michigan Inc. will also participate in the financing.
Preston Pinkett, President and CEO of City National Bank, says the bank is continuing to recover from the financial crisis. Pinkett was brought in about three years ago to plot a new course for the bank, which has been operating under a consent order from the OCC since 2009. Although City National faces challenges in loans and deposits, Pinkett noted the bank's progress in reducing problem assets. "We do see light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not another train," he said. Pinkett is planning a private offering to raise more capital for the bank before the end of the year.