美国国家公共电台 NPR--Minority-owned banks say depositors shouldn't worry — their money is safe

Minority-owned banks say depositors shouldn't worry — their money is safe

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to National Bankers Association President and CEO Nicole Elam about the health of minority-owned banks in the U.S. following the sudden collapse² of Silicon³ Valley Bank.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The sudden collapse of California-based Silicon Valley Bank has raised concerns over the health of the U.S. banking⁴ sector⁵. A new study suggests that close to 190 other U.S. banks could face a similar fate if just half of their depositors withdraw their cash. This includes smaller, minority-owned community banks that support people of color in a way the bigger banks don't. Joining me now is Nicole Elam, president and CEO of the National Bankers Association that represents America's minority-owned financial institutions. Good morning, Nicole.

NICOLE ELAM: Good morning. Thank you for having me.

FADEL: Thank you for being here. So I want to start with that big question. Does all this turmoil⁶ have an outsized impact on America's minority-owned banks?

ELAM: Absolutely. The bank failures have led to deposit flight as we're seeing customers withdraw their funds and take it to banks that the public taught them or, actually, the government taught them in 2008 are too big to fail. And so we are spending a lot of time educating customers that their money is safe with minority banks. In fact, 98% of all deposit accounts at minority banks are under $250,000 and thus fully⁷ FDIC insured. But we're seeing a lot of deposit flight.

FADEL: And a lot of these minority-owned banks are the smaller banks that are more fearful now that people will pull their money to go to the bigger institutions?

ELAM: Absolutely. The average asset size of a minority bank is under $400 million. So these are the smallest of the small banks, but these are also the banks that have an outsized impact in the community. Minority banks are located in communities that are 77% minority. Compare that to all other banks, which are located in communities that are only 31% minority. So they are significant providers of mortgages and small business loans in the communities that they sit in and serve.

FADEL: And if you could just talk about what's so important about securing the health of minority-owned banks so they can exist, continue to exist, especially as it relates to what they offer to people of color compared to the big financial institutions and the history of how they've treated people of color, especially Black people.

ELAM: That's a great question. So minority banks were actually born out of racism⁸ because Black, brown and immigrant communities could not go to mainstream⁹ financial institutions for their banking services. The reality of it is that 100 years later, data continues to show that these banks are significant providers of mortgages and small business loans. If you are Black, brown or immigrant, you are more likely to have access to financial services. You are more likely to get approved for a mortgage, more likely to get approved for a small business loan if you have a minority bank branch sitting in your community. And so these are the ones that were pushing out PPP loans during the pandemic. They're the ones that have been providing access to financial services. They're the ones saying yes when other banks are saying no to these underserved communities.

FADEL: But even before this turmoil started, the number of Black-owned banks specifically have been declining over the last two decades. Why is that? Why is that happening?

ELAM: A lot of it has to do with these banks being historically undercapitalized. At its peak, there were 134 Black banks. Today, there are only 21. The reason why is because these banks don't have access to the same capital markets as larger, mainstream financial institutions. So whenever there is an economic downturn, these banks are hit hard, oftentimes hit hard like the communities that they serve, so they're forced to close. What's been different, though, is that over the last three years, you have seen the public, private and philanthropic sector infuse huge amounts of capital into these banks in this post-pandemic, post-George Floyd environment as they have realized that these banks are key to helping¹⁰ to close the wealth gap. And so you've seen Black banks in particular grow in asset size by 56% in the last three years as you've seen 4 to $5 billion flow into these banks.

FADEL: So right now, in this moment of turmoil and uncertainty¹¹, what would you like the Biden administration to do to ensure that smaller community banks are safe for depositors?

ELAM: Two things - I would like them to reinstate full deposit insurance coverage¹² for depositors for the next one to two years. I think that will restore public confidence in the banking system. And it will also level the playing field because what's happened is that the government has created this two-tier banking system - that there are banks that are too big to fail and everyone else.

FADEL: Nicole Elam, president and CEO of the National Bankers Association, thank you for taking the time.

ELAM: Thank you for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。