News
A postal reform bill that passed Congress this week could offer another opportunity to install a postal banking system in the United States, according to a review by the Prospect. While the $107 billion in savings from ending the Postal Service's prefunding of retirement benefits and moving postal retirees onto Medicare has received most of the headlines, Section 103 of the bill, subsection 3704, restates USPS authority to partner to "provide property and nonpostal services" to federal government agencies, as long as whatever results raises revenue for the Postal Service. This would appear to supersede one aspect of a ban on non-postal products from the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, and could pave the way to providing services that mirror a bank account for any American who wants one.
The Board of Directors of National Cooperative Bank (NCB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Casey Fannon as the bank's new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Fannon has been serving as the Acting CEO of NCB since the sudden death of the bank's former CEO, Chuck Snyder, in November. "The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that we have unanimously approved Casey Fannon as NCB's Chief Executive Officer effectively immediately," stated Debra Huddleston, Chair of NCB's Board of Directors. "In his 25 years at the bank, Casey has demonstrated the expertise, commitment, and passion to lead NCB into the future. The Board has great trust in Casey's leadership and we look forward to working with him in advancing NCB's mission." Since joining NCB in 1996, Mr. Fannon has dedicated his entire career to National Cooperative Bank and has served as its President since March 2020 and Acting CEO since November 2021.
Misperceptions of risk among many lenders make Black-owned small businesses twice as likely to get rejected for bank loans as white-owned small businesses. A new fund raised by the Expanding Black Business Credit Network aims to shift the narrative. The Black-led consortium of community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, has raised $29 million for the Black Vision Fund to increase the amount of capital available for lending by its members. The goal: reduce the racial wealth gap. The loans will be underwritten by community lenders including Jackson, Miss.-based Hope Credit Union, the National Community Investment Fund in Chicago, Texas Mezzanine Fund, Minneapolis-based Metropolitan Economic Development Association, City First Broadway Bank in D.C. and Los Angeles, Community First Fund in Philadelphia, and Florida-based Black Business Investment Fund.
Andy Anderson has been with the Bank of Anguilla since 1983. He is now the CEO and President of the very bank that foreclosed on the house in which he and his mother lived when he was a child after his parents divorced. This is but one fascinating story found throughout Anderson's career and also one that demonstrates how far the bank has come and speaks to its' mission and purpose today. "We try to lend to people that other banks might not even talk to, primarily because of where we live and the fact that we know everyone in the area. Certainly you have to say ‘No’ sometimes, but we go out of our way to try and find a way to help any customer that comes through our doors who truly want to help themselves.”
Days ago, the Detroit-based First Independent Bank (FIB) opened for business at the former Wells Fargo bank branch located at 3430 University Avenue S.E. The bank's chairman and CEO, Kenneth Kelly, noted in a press release that the University Avenue branch is "located in the community where it is visible and accessible to all in the Twin Cities... We look at the fact that it is close to the Metro Green Line and bus routes so that under-resourced and unbanked members of the community can easily reach us and use our services to improve their financial outlook." FIB, one of the 17 Black-owned full-service banks in the country, has received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to set up shop in the Twin Cities. The current expansion into the Minnesota market is the result of collaborative action on capital enhancement, marketing, and research with Bank of America, Bremer Bank, Huntington Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Federal banking regulators are expected to issue a long-awaited proposal for modernizing requirements under the Community Reinvestment Act as early as this month, officials said Monday. The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plan to issue a joint revamp of the anti-redlining law after years of interagency tension over the issue during the Trump administration. Last year, acting Comptroller Michal Hsu rescinded a breakaway rule change made in 2020 under former Comptroller Joseph Otting that had for the first time created a different interpretation among the regulators of how banks must comply. Since then, the three agencies have been working together on how to move forward with a unified modernization of the 1970s-era law. The agencies are eyeing issuing a formal proposal in March, said Mark Pearce, director of FDIC’s division of depositor and consumer protection, at a Monday event hosted by the Consumer Bankers Association.
Low-income, less-educated, and minority households are less likely to have bank accounts—which are essential for households' financial well-being. People have cited high fees, minimum balance requirements, and other reasons why they don't have bank accounts. Federal agencies have worked to increase banking access. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation piloted a public awareness campaign on the benefits of bank accounts. Are these agencies' efforts working? Many of the agencies don't know—so we recommended developing performance measures for these efforts to help determine how effective they are.
Low-income, less-educated, and minority households are less likely to have bank accounts—which are essential for households' financial well-being. People have cited high fees, minimum balance requirements, and other reasons why they don't have bank accounts. Federal agencies have worked to increase banking access. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation piloted a public awareness campaign on the benefits of bank accounts. Are these agencies' efforts working? Many of the agencies don't know—so we recommended developing performance measures for these efforts to help determine how effective they are.
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury launched a historic demographic information collection effort to measure equity outcomes for small businesses supported by the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program. The information collected by Treasury will support the program's commitment to expanding access to capital for businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SEDI businesses). The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included $10 billion for SSBCI to provide to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments for programs that help small businesses access capital, including $2.5 billion in allocations to support SEDI businesses. SSBCI will provide recipient jurisdictions funding for a range of programs that will increase access to credit for small businesses, including through lending and equity capital investments, to help businesses grow in the years ahead. Treasury's implementation of the SSBCI program is designed to expand access to capital, promote economic resiliency, and create new jobs and economic opportunity.
Savannah's Carver State Bank celebrated a huge milestone this weekend - its 95th anniversary! To mark the special occasion, they showed a documentary called Financial Freedom for All: Robert James and Carver State Bank. The film honors and recognizes the bank's President and CEO, Robert James, who began his career at the bank in 1971. 50 years later, he is the longest tenured Black bank president in the country. "We are proud of the fact that we have survived through all of the difficulties that financial institutions have had over the years. All the changes and the technologies and markets but Carver has managed to survive. And I think that we survived because we've had consistency of leadership and consistency of purpose," James said.