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Title details for The Banks We Deserve by Oscar Perry Abello - Available

The Banks We Deserve

Reclaiming Community Banking for a Just Economy

by Oscar Perry Abello
ebook
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We've never done anything big in this country without little banks. Yet the number of community banks in the US has been steadily declining for decades, giving way to big banks that have little connection to the communities they claim to serve. The massive, unprecedented shift toward such a highly concentrated banking sector has weakened our ability to take action at a community level and leaves many people, especially those who have been historically marginalized, without access to capital.

In The Banks We Deserve, journalist Oscar Perry Abello argues that community banking has a crucial role to play in addressing urgent social challenges, from creating a more racially just economy to preparing for a changing climate. At their best, community banks unleash the agency and aspirations of the communities that establish them. Abello challenges people working on racial justice, community development, or addressing climate change to start more community banks or credit unions as part of their work, while also calling for policies and regulatory reforms that will help tilt the landscape back in favor of community banking.

The Banks We Deserve tells the stories of new community banks — like Adelphi Bank, in Columbus, Ohio, the first new Black bank in 20 years; or Walden Mutual Bank in Concord, New Hampshire, the first new mutual bank since 1973 and the first chartered specifically to finance a more sustainable food system; or Climate First Bank, in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has grown exponentially since opening for business in 2021. He hopes these stories inspire others to take some of these same daunting-but-not-impossible steps.

For a community or industry that is being ignored by big banks, the idea of starting up a new bank or credit union rarely figures as an option. In The Banks We Deserve, Abello shows advocates, organizers, and innovators that it can be done, that it is being done, and describes a path to support more community banks and credit unions.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 4, 2025

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781642833416

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781642833416
      • File size: 760 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      January 1, 2025

      Journalist Abello's (senior economic justice correspondent, Next City) book expresses concern about the state of the U.S. banking industry. He demonstrates not only that there has been a significant decrease in the number of community banks and credit unions in the U.S. over the years, but also that relatively few of them provide many loans to people of color or to those with lower economic means. Abello argues that the number of these types of banks must increase, especially since they were developed to help the people and businesses in their direct surroundings. The book tells the stories of a number of community banks and credit unions. For example, there's Adelphi Bank in Columbus, OH, which opened in 2023, making it the first new Black-owned bank in the U.S. since 2003. Adelphi Bank demonstrates how it has prioritized developing underserved Black communities with efforts such as awarding loans to a number of developers building affordable housing in that area. VERDICT A fresh take on banking that will show readers how credit unions and community banks can improve the social, economic, and environmental situations of the people they serve.--Shmuel Ben-Gad

      Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      January 1, 2025
      This slim volume by the senior economic correspondent for Next City punches way above its weight in examining the chasm between the financial needs of underserved and often nonwhite urban communities--with special focus on local development and environmental sustainability--and a banking infrastructure often unable or outright unwilling to help them. He cites New York City, where a Hispanic population of 2.4 million has just one minority depository institution, as does a Black population of 1.9 million. Such alternative institutions, from mutual and public banks to credit unions, possess the "soft information" essential to discerning acute community needs and the businesses best suited to address them, yet their share of assets overall in the banking industry has dropped from 39 percent in 1984 to just 11.31 percent today. Deep diving into federal and state legislation passed to address that disparity, Abello shares the stories of several entrepreneurs who've successfully navigated the system to meet street-level needs in their towns. A how-to guide that raises awareness of both underserved population needs and the institutions available--or not--to serve them.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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