Recent News
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.
When Black Lives Matter protests spread across the nation last year, many banks responded with splashy pledges to do better, in part by hiring and promoting more people of color. Now some of those banks are tying executive pay to certain diversity and inclusion metrics. A recent analysis of 60 companies' executive pay packages suggests that more banks are incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion factors into executive pay decisions this year than in the past. While the details can vary from bank to bank, the basic intent is still the same: if diversity is going to play a more... Read more
Banks are becoming more aware of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues, but some still struggle with how to accurately report data or tell their story on these issues. During a panel discussion at an S&P Global Market Intelligence community banking virtual conference, bankers said they were paying more attention to ESG issues because of demand from communities, investors and boards of directors. But even though banks are feeling more pressure to report ESG progress, a lack of streamlined data points can create challenges. A poll during the panel showed respondents... Read more
As bank CEOs serving side by side in local markets, we strive to create wealth, share risk and meet the financial needs of the entire community. We understand that our organizations exist to serve customers and we grow when access to the financial pie expands to include everyone. When groups and neighborhoods do not have access to the financial system it affects all of us. Last fall, our teams began a dialogue through a series of conference calls. The goal: to spur economic activity in communities where access to the financial system has historically been limited. Both of our banks —... Read more
Robert James II, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Carver State Bank, testified to the House Committee on Small Business on May 18. The hearing was convened to introduce Members of Congress to CDFIs and MDIs and to discuss the impact these institutions make in their communities, especially with respect to supporting local entrepreneurs. Mr. James' testimony begins around the 30:40 mark.
A white loan applicant and Black loan applicant each walked into a D.C.-area bank. But there's little humor to their outcomes — what one walked out with was far different from the other, per a study last year done at the height of the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program. It was in early in the second round of PPP funding, which started April 27, 2020. Both applicants were seeking information on the crucial forgivable loans that were keeping so many small businesses alive through the pandemic. Yet, the Black applicant was told by a local bank representative that no... Read more
The past 12 months were interesting for publicly traded companies, including those based in Mississippi. Nine of the top public companies on the Mississippi Business Journal's 15 top public companies list are banking institutions. M. Ray (Hoppy) Cole, president/CEO of The First, A National Banking Association headquartered in Hattiesburg, is also positive. “Our company performed extremely well during 2020, which is a testament to the commitment by our team members to focusing on client service and being nimble; that is being able to change quickly to maintain our high level of service,” he... Read more
Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) has supported small businesses and individuals for over 70 years. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the locally owned bank has supported its community by administering Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, feeding senior citizens, supporting local classrooms and sharing financial education resources. Since 1998, CBKC has been proud to be a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). The CDFI Fund is a U.S. Treasury initiative to increase economic opportunity and promote community development investments for underserved populations and in... Read more
CDBA and 9 other banking trades last week sent a letter to Acting Comptroller Blake Paulson supporting his efforts to add more objectivity and transparency to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) framework while also asking that he formally withdraw the June 2020 OCC Rule or delay its January 2023 compliance date.
Through the CARES Act, Congress ordered the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department to issue guidance to lenders to ensure that the loan program "prioritizes small business concerns and entities in underserved and rural markets." Yet a Reveal analysis of more than 5 million PPP loans found widespread racial disparities in how those loans were distributed. In the vast majority of metro areas with a population of 1 million or more, the rate of lending to majority-white neighborhoods was higher than the rates for any neighborhoods with Latino, Black or Asian majorities.
Quontic, a bank headquartered in New York City, refers to itself as an "adaptive digital bank." Ever since CEO Steven Schnall purchased the former Golden First Bank in 2009, the entrepreneur and former mortgage banker has been molding the bank to reflect his vision. "Part of the thesis when I bought the bank was that brick-and-mortar retail bank branches were ultimately going to die out, and people, consumers in particular, would want to bank online," he said. The bank, a certified community development financial institution (CDFI), started off with a focus on nonqualified mortgage lending... Read more
The Federal Reserve will conduct a national survey of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) from March 22-April 23. Participating CDFIs will be asked questions about their capitalization, capacity and the impact of COVID-19 on their organizations, clients and communities. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Banks and the CDFI Fund intend to use the survey data to inform research and policymaking. The survey data will also provide important benchmark information on how CDFIs are faring in the COVID-19 crisis and how they are serving low-income and minority... Read more
The current movement for racial reconciliation has raised awareness of the centuries-long wealth gap in America between whites and people of color—and of the role Black-owned banks can play to bridge it. Even if you don’t have a team of money managers or hundreds of millions to shift to Black-owned institutions, you can still start an account with a bank dedicated to investing in underserved communities. Banks mentioned include Carver Federal Savings Bank, City First Bank, First Independence Bank, and OneUnited Bank.
Citigroup Inc. said it will invest in digital mortgage offerings as part of its pledge to improve homeownership rates among communities of color. The push to digital comes as Citigroup said the rate of applications and originations it processed for Black and Hispanic consumers dropped last year, even as it increased for Asian homeowners. In response, the firm is also still planning to expand its community lending team and its network of correspondent lenders, it said. Citigroup has pledged $100 million to support minority deposit institutions in the U.S., which have seen their numbers... Read more