Urban League to open bank | News

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- Charlotte is well known for its towering financial institutions, but beyond the expansive skyline some in our local banking community are wrestling with a troubling set of numbers.
 
Local Urban League President Dr. Patrick Graham  sees an alarming trend of far too many who don't use traditional banks or credit unions.
 
"So here we are in the banking center, the second largest banking center in our nation and sixty percent of our population across ethnic and class lines have a sub prime fico score which means below 700" he said.
 
Construction is set to begin early next week for a new bank operated by the Urban League of Central Carolinas that is scheduled to open in early September.

Start an account and expect to pay a very small fee for services.
 
Graham said, "We're talking about fee structure of three dollars a month for unlimited banking,unlimited checking,unlimited transactions."
 
Dr.Graham is hoping the new bank will keep people away from check cashing and pay day loan operations.
 
He said, "We don't want our people using those institutions, where you can take out a loan for 500 hundred or a thousand dollars and be paying on it five years later."
 
The goal according to Graham is to make customers wiser.
 
"They will have financial literacy coaches, and they will get quarterly reviews on their accounts."
 
New accounts that may offer a road to recovery in a land of financial giants.

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