Under-served populations

Group looks to form bank to serve minority-owned businesses

02/26/21

Ingenious Financial in Arlington, Va., is raising $200 million in hopes of buying an existing bank. Bank of Ingenious would focus on professionals such as doctors, dentists and veterinarians.

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Banks redouble efforts to aid Black-owned businesses

02/24/21

Several large and midsize banks are investing millions of dollars in Black-run banks, while four community banks have started a fund to make interest-free commercial loans in underserved communities.

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Expand CRA to include nonbanks

02/22/21

If policymakers are serious about revitalizing low-income communities, they should require all fintechs and other nonchartered lenders to adhere to the Community Reinvestment Act.

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Hope FCU, Goldman Sachs team up to help small busineses in the South

02/10/21

The Jackson, Miss.-based credit union is part of an alliance that also includes the megabank, seven cities and nine historically Black colleges and universities, and aims to provide investments of up to $130 million to help stabilize businesses and communities hit hard by the pandemic.

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Wells Fargo invests in six Black-owned banks

02/08/21

Aside from the cash infusions, the San Francisco-based bank will assign dedicated teams to provide the lenders with financial, technology and product expertise.

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What bankers can do to close the racial wealth gap

02/08/21

Free financial education programs and easier access to safe small-dollar loans are among the ways banks could help put low-income minority households on a path to prosperity.

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Immigrant-focused fintechs offer lessons for banks

02/05/21

Startups such as Majority, Sable and Simba were created by newcomers to the U.S. who learned firsthand which services, including global remittances and financial education, their audience values most.

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Diversify your leadership before regulators do it for you

02/03/21

A voluntary effort to include more members of underepresented groups in the C-suite and on corporate boards would help banks avoid government mandates.

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Behind the deal to form the biggest Black-run bank

01/28/21

Broadway Financial had hit a plateau and was in search of a successor to its longtime CEO Wayne-Kent Bradshaw. After the Los Angeles company rejected two buyout offers, Bradshaw reconnected with an old friend at CFBanc in Washington.

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Inclusiv launches $20M capital fund to benefit communities of color

01/14/21

The project will deploy $20 million as secondary capital to expand economic relief and financial inclusion, and follows a $1 million project last summer aimed at helping low-income consumers in Rust Belt cities.

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