Inner City Banking

Union Bank of California and leaders in the check-cashing and community service industries in Los Angeles have put together a venture that will provide financial services to underserved neighborhoods in California.

The community bank has invested in a local check-cashing company, Nix Check Cashing, through Operation HOPE, a group formed to encourage revitalization in inner cities and unserved communities. The financial services companies hope to offer community banking services.

Eventually the new banking centers will offer checking and savings accounts, small business services, consumers loans, credit cards, new and used car loans, home equity loans and residential mortgages. HOPE says it aims to convert more than 30 percent of check cashing customers into depository customers, move renters into home ownership, and help small business dreams become reality. The group says that currently, about 15 percent of the population of California have dropped out of traditional financial services.

Bankers Hotline, Vol. 10, No. 6, 6/29/00
Copyright, 2000, Bankers Hotline