Opinion
Banking on Good Practices
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
Founder/Publisher
B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER
Executive Editor
T ED B ANKS
Advertising Manager
J ERRY F OSTER
Account Executive
L ISA L OVING
News Editor
H ELEN S ILVIS
Multimedia Editor
D AVID K IDD
Graphic Designer
M ONICA J. F OSTER
Seattle Office Coordinator
J ULIE K EEFE
S USAN F RIED
Photographers
B
ack in the day, the music of
James Brown prompted
many listeners to tap a toe
or two. One particular JB song,
“There was a time,” is as relevant
today as it was before – particular-
ly when it comes to how Ameri-
ca’s banks changed over the years.
There indeed was a time when
bank profitability was derived
from its investments in communi-
ties and neighborhoods. There
was also a time when many people
believed that banks would treat
them fairly.
Just as James Brown passed on,
so did many of the banking prac-
tices of yesteryear. Today’s bank
customers often harbor a deep and
broad resentment as to how these
institutions operate. Perhaps a
new research report on credit cards
from the Center for Responsible
Lending (CRL) will enlighten and
encourage those now leading our
financial institutions to change
their ways again. Predatory Credit
Card Lending, the latest research
from CRL, finds that bank prac-
tices that benefited consumers also
enhanced financial stability. Con-
versely, financial institutions
R ESPONSIBLE L ENDING
Charlene Crowell
focused on maximizing short-term
gains through deceptive terms and
penalty fees wound up being more
financially at-risk.
The report states in part, “Preda-
CRL examined prevalent mar-
keting and pricing practices before
the Credit Card Accountability,
Responsibility and Disclosure Act
(CARD Act) took effect. The
analysis of the connection
between credit card practices and
actual company performance dur-
ing the recent economic downturn
was based on data from the top
‘This study shows that measures to stop
deceptive and unfair lending
practices promote market
transparency and enhance the health
of lenders –and the economy – in the
long term’
tory products seemed profitable in
the short term and seemed to help
fuel economic growth; but led to a
disproportionate escalation in
losses when housing markets
slowed and the economy soured.
Our new research shows this has
also been true in the credit card
arena.”
100 credit card issuers. After
tracking credit losses from 2006
through 2010, CRL found:
· Credit card issuers that
engaged in a deceptive or abusive
tactic tended to have multiple
offenses;
· The larger the financial institu-
tion was that was engaged in these
misleading practices, the worse
their practices tended to be.
· In general, regional or smaller
banks and credit unions tended to
have clearer and fairer pricing; and
· Common sense curbs on abu-
sive lending benefit everyone —
customers, investors, shareholder
and ultimately taxpayers.
These findings also suggest that
despite current efforts to weaken
or dismantle the Consumer Finan-
cial Protection Bureau, the public
and private sectors would be well-
served by more and better policing
of credit cards and other forms of
predatory lending such as over-
draft and payday loans.
High-cost penalty fees and rising
interest rates became the risk,
instead of mitigating it, according
to CRL. The report concludes,
“This study shows that measures
to stop deceptive and unfair lend-
ing practices promote market
transparency and enhance the
health of lenders –and the econo-
my – in the long term.”
There was a time when bankers
understood that taking care of its
customers was just good business.
High-Speed Broadband: Access and Jobs
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ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers
Association.
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“M
illions being left out of
jobs, left out of digital
learning, is not just an eco-
nomic issue; it’s a civil rights issue” –
FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski
An after school and summer camp
STEM Academy run by the Urban
League of Greater Chattanooga has
increased students’ proficiency in both
math and reading by 32 percent. In Cen-
tral Florida, 70 percent to 80 percent of
students who enter the local Urban
League’s Center for Workforce Innova-
tion Job Training Program graduate with
a job at the end of the program. These
rare success stories demonstrate that we
know what works in the critical effort to
increase broadband access and digital lit-
eracy throughout America. But these
stories take that goal one step further.
property of The Skanner. We are not re -
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T O B E
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Marc Morial
Page 4 The Portland Skanner May 16, 2012
and the kind of hands on
management support for
start-up businesses that is
being offered at the nine
National Urban League
Entrepreneurship Centers
around the country.
Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com
Job Competitiveness.”
The report reveals that while the gap is
narrowing, the broadband adoption rate
in African American households is still
only 56 percent compared with 67 per-
cent for Whites. That gap widens notice-
ably, however, among those without a
high school diploma. The rate of broad-
band access for African Americans with-
out a high school degree is 38 percent,
while 51 percent of Whites
in that same category are
online at home.
With almost all major
companies now posting
job openings exclusively
online, 77 percent of
African Americans with-
out high school diplomas
used the Internet to look
for a job during 2009-
2010. Clearly, we must
target low-income com-
munities in our efforts to
expand access to both
broadband and jobs. We
applaud efforts like the FCC’s “Connect
to Compete” program that is offering
low-cost broadband connections in low-
income communities. But more must be
done to close the gap and to tackle the
significant under-representation of
African Americans in broadband jobs
and businesses. Our “Connecting the
Dots” report is a collection of practical
ideas that bring together all the elements
for success, including workforce train-
ing, private enterprise development, and
modernizing the STEM education
pipeline. We recommend:
Creating workforce training in broad-
band sectors that incorporate job place-
ment – like the successful Central
Florida Workforce Innovation Job Train-
The rate of broadband
access for African Americans
without a high school degree
is 38 percent, while 51
percent of Whites in that
same category are online at
home
With broadband access much too low
and joblessness much too high in com-
munities of color, these Urban League
programs make the powerful link
between broadband access and jobs.
It’s not enough to place the Internet at
everyone’s fingertips, we believe that
real progress will only occur if the digi-
tal divide is closed in a way that
enhances employment opportunities for
communities hardest hit by the recession
and the jobless recovery of the last few
decades. Last week the National Urban
League’s Policy Institute in partnership
with Time Warner Cable, highlighted
that reality with the release of a report
titled, “Connecting the Dots: Linking
Broadband Adoption to Job Creation and
ing program.
Increasing
broadband
businesses in economically
hard hit areas. Strategies
might include fast-tracking
approvals for broadband
businesses that are willing
to move into hard-hit areas