''Bank Fees Are a Credit Union's Best Friend''
"Something is wrong when keeping cash in the kitchen cookie jar seems a reasonable substitute for your bank.''
More infoIntroduction
Through research and advocacy, PHG’s Financial Security Portfolio helps American families gain access to safe and affordable financial products and services that empower them to manage their money, pay their bills and develop a credit rating. Our latest and ongoing effort, a multiphase survey of 1,000 banked and 1,000 unbanked households in greater Los Angeles, examines the financial behavior of these two groups at a level of detail not previously attained.
The objectives of this study are:
- To identify and measure the financial service needs, perceptions and behaviors of low- and moderate-income households in specific neighborhoods of Los Angeles. This new data will fill a gap in knowledge about the potential of this population to actively utilize bank accounts and financial products and services. Our findings in this study to date demonstrate that market opportunities do exist, but that there are significant barriers to market growth. Such information can help banks and credit unions develop effective products and services to serve the unbanked and “underbanked” communities.
- To inform and evaluate the efficacy of publicly-led programs to “bank the unbanked,” especially Los Angeles’ Bank On programs, which aim to connect qualified unbanked households to specific banking opportunities. Half of the households interviewed in the study are in communities that have been targeted by a “Bank On” campaign, and half are in socioeconomically similar communities that have not been targeted. In this study’s final wave, now in the field, survey takers will assess the impact of these programs.
- To provide a basis for policy solutions on a local, state or national scale. Just as this data can help financial institutions provide for traditionally underserved sectors of the community, it can also help policy makers identify legislative or regulatory changes that support safer and more accessible banking products and services. Such changes could open regulated financial institutions to more Americans, providing them safer and more affordable contexts for building savings, credit and wealth. The survey reveals the need for policy intervention and suggests the benefits that proactive initiatives could confer not only for these populations but for society at large.
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