Lawmakers: Wealthy Get More Banks Than the Poor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The city’s wealthiest neighborhoods have gained 88 new banks in the last six years, while only nine have been added in the poorest neighborhoods, lawmakers say.
“Access to banking institutions and their credit and investment capital is essential to create and retain jobs, develop affordable housing and support small businesses. But banks in this city are disproportionately serving wealthy New Yorkers,” according to a statement by Rep. Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, and City Council Member Letitia James.
The lawmakers said there is a bank for every 4,035 New Yorkers living in neighborhoods with a median household income above $30,000, but only one bank for every 10,447 people in neighborhoods with a median household income below $30,000.
They said that over the last seven years, the number of banks in the Bronx, the borough with the lowest median income, only grew by 24 while the number of bank branches in Manhattan increased by 168.
They said federal and state programs meant to encourage banks to provide services in poorer neighborhoods have proven to be insufficient.
