Why You Should Be Banking With Bank of Charlotte County
Bank of Charlotte County is a community-focused rural bank in southern Virginia known for its exceptional affordable housing, small business, and agricultural lending. By investing heavily in low- and moderate-income households and small-town economies, the bank plays a vital role in preserving economic opportunity and community life in rural Virginia.
Why You Should Be Banking With Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Co.
Citizens Savings Bank & Trust Co. is a historic Black-owned bank and certified CDFI serving Nashville and Memphis through small business lending, financial literacy programs, and community-focused banking. As the oldest continuously operating Minority Depository Institution in the United States, the bank plays an important role in expanding economic opportunity in underserved Black communities.
How Mega Banks Create the Illusion of Effectiveness While Failing Communities
Mega banks often promote billion-dollar community development initiatives, but those numbers can be misleading when compared to the trillions of dollars they hold in assets. This article explains how to evaluate lending statistics using percentages rather than raw dollar amounts so you can better understand which banks are truly investing in low-income communities, affordable housing, and local economic development.
Why You Should Be Banking With Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank is a community-focused CDFI serving southern Mississippi through affordable housing loans, small business financing, and agricultural lending. With deep roots in small-town banking and a strong commitment to local economic development, the bank helps expand financial opportunity in underserved rural communities across the region.
Why You Should Be Banking With Sycamore Bank
Sycamore Bank is a community-focused CDFI serving northern Mississippi through affordable housing loans, small business financing, and agricultural lending. With deep roots in small-town Mississippi and a strong commitment to low- and moderate-income communities, the bank helps expand economic opportunity across rural areas surrounding Memphis and Oxford.
Why You Should Be Banking With Ponce Bank
Ponce Bank is a Hispanic-led community bank and certified CDFI serving New York City through affordable housing lending, community-focused banking, and local economic development. With branches across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and northern New Jersey, the bank helps expand financial access and investment in underserved communities throughout the region.
Why You Should Be Banking With Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union
Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union is a mission-driven CDFI and community development credit union serving low-income, immigrant, and underserved communities in New York City. Through small business lending, financial education, and community-focused banking, LES People’s FCU works to expand economic opportunity while helping residents resist the effects of gentrification in neighborhoods like the Lower East Side and Harlem.
Updates & Announcements for Better Banking Options
Better Banking Options reflects on a year of researching community banks, credit unions, and ethical banking institutions across the country while outlining plans for the future. From developing a community banking search engine to expanding research into mission-driven financial institutions, the project continues working to make socially responsible banking more accessible and transparent.
Why You Should Be Banking With Legacy Bank & Trust Co.
Legacy Bank & Trust Co. is a mission-driven community bank serving southcentral Missouri through strong small business lending, agricultural financing, and investment in underserved rural communities. As a certified CDFI and CDBI, the bank plays a vital role in supporting local economies, small farms, and community development across rural Missouri.
Why You Should Be Banking With Texas National Bank
Texas National Bank is a Latine-led community bank and certified CDFI serving underserved communities in the southern tip of Texas. Through affordable housing loans, small business lending, and bilingual community-focused banking services, the bank helps expand financial access and economic opportunity in predominantly Latine communities along the Texas border.
Why Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) Are Essential for Reducing the Racial Wealth Gap
Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) play a critical role in expanding financial access and economic opportunity in historically underserved communities. From combating the legacy of redlining to supporting Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American communities through housing and small business lending, MDIs help direct capital into neighborhoods that traditional banking institutions have long neglected.
Why You Should Be Banking With The Harbor Bank of Maryland
The Harbor Bank of Maryland is a Black-owned community bank and certified CDFI dedicated to expanding economic opportunity in Baltimore and surrounding communities. Through strong small business lending, affordable housing investment, and community-focused financial services, the bank helps bring capital back into historically underserved Black neighborhoods.
Why You Should Be Banking With 21st Century Bank
21st Century Bank is a locally focused Minnesota bank supporting Minneapolis–St. Paul through strong small business lending and investment in low- and moderate-income housing. With deep roots in the Twin Cities and a commitment to community development, the bank helps strengthen local businesses and expand economic opportunity across the region.
Why You Should Be Banking With First Farmers & Merchants National Bank
First Farmers & Merchants National Bank is a community-focused Minnesota bank supporting small businesses, local agriculture, and rural economic development in Fairmont and St. Paul. With strong small business and farm lending alongside modern online banking services, the bank helps strengthen both rural communities and urban local economies across Minnesota.
Why You Should Be Banking With Drake Bank
Drake Bank is a mission-driven community bank in St. Paul focused on small business lending, local investment, and relationship-based banking in the Twin Cities. With a strong commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and underserved neighborhoods, the bank plays an important role in strengthening the local economy of Minneapolis–St. Paul.
Why Small Community Banks Are Essential to Rural America’s Economic Health
Small community banks play a vital role in sustaining rural America by keeping local money invested in small businesses, housing, farms, and underserved communities. As large national banks continue pulling out of rural towns, community banking institutions remain essential to preserving economic opportunity, local investment, and long-term community stability.
Why You Should Be Banking With AmeriState Bank
AmeriState Bank is a community-focused Oklahoma bank serving rural towns and Native American communities through housing loans, small business lending, and agricultural financing. With a strong commitment to local economic development and underserved populations, the bank plays an important role in expanding financial opportunity across southern Oklahoma.
Why You Should Be Banking With Cross Keys Bank
Cross Keys Bank is a community-focused CDFI serving Northern Louisiana through small business lending, housing loans, and agricultural financing in underserved rural communities. With a long history of local investment and personalized customer service, the bank helps strengthen economic opportunity in small towns across the region.
Why You Should Be Banking With Bank of Montgomery
Bank of Montgomery is a community-focused CDFI serving Northern Louisiana through housing loans, small business lending, and agricultural financing. With a strong commitment to local lending, personalized customer service, and investment in underserved communities, the bank helps strengthen economic opportunity across rural Louisiana.
Why You Should Be Banking With Alternatives Federal Credit Union
Alternatives Federal Credit Union is a mission-driven CDFI and Community Development Credit Union serving Ithaca and surrounding communities through financial education, accessible lending, and community-focused banking services. Known for its commitment to economic opportunity and financial freedom, Alternatives FCU helps underserved individuals build long-term financial stability.