Choosing a financial institution to bank with is a major decision; you are entering into a relationship, a financial one, with this institution. You agree to trust them with one of your most prized possessions — your financial security. And in return, you expect them, at a bare minimum, to do no harm.

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A best practice of many banks to create relationships that last was to offer “perks” that enhance your life, such as convenient digital banking tools, like mobile and online banking, and special interest rates on deposits and loans. Now, with an increased focus on corporate social responsibility (the business model of companies being more socially and environmentally accountable), consumers expect, if not demand, that we now go beyond doing no harm and do some good.

A growing number of people are factoring in the community impact a financial institution has.

Did they fund the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)?

Do they fund private prisons?

How are they reinvesting our dollars into the communities they serve?

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If the answers to these questions matter to you, consider banking Black. There are zero Black-owned or run financial institutions that funded the DAPL (see banks that do, here). They also didn't contribute to the funding of private prisons like JP Morgan and the other big banks did. Here is an article on AfroTech by Arriana McLymore about how JPMorgan Chase will stop funding private prisons.

The passing of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1977 "requires the Federal Reserve and other federal banking regulators to encourage financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they do business," especially the low and moderate (LMI) communities. Thanks to Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluations, that evaluate how financial institutions meet the credit needs of the local communities they serve, we know that Black banks like OneUnited and Industrial Bank are walking the walk with satisfactory and outstanding ratings in their latest evaluations.

Time to make some money moves

If you are socially conscious, a community advocate or environmentalist and care how your deposits are being reinvested, these are major reasons you should crossover and seriously consider banking Black.

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