Nearly half of all African Americans are either unbanked or underbanked, having little or no relationship with a bank or financial institution. It is important to recognize the depth of distrust of the banking industry within the Black community for a variety of reasons. Recent class-action lawsuits, brought against major banks charging improper handling of mortgages and steering Black homeowners into high-risk mortgages, are well known within the Black community. This has not helped build the institutional trust that is needed to overcome this hurdle.
Because wealth building cannot begin without engagement with financial institutions it is vital to increase the drive for financial literacy among all Americans and particularly among low- and moderate-income Black adults and youth in order to secure their future prosperity.
This report addresses the following questions:
- What is the current financial state of Black America? - What factors contribute to the high levels of unbanked and underbanked individuals? And how can financial marketers begin to reverse this trend? - What are the biggest barriers to retirement planning for Black workers? - What advertising messages will be the most effective? - What factors have the most impact on financial decisions? Education? Age? Household income?
