A Black MDI serving Northern Philadelphia neighborhoods since 1992
Black banks serve a particularly important function within the banking landscape, as statistics have consistently shown that Black Americans are typically much more likely to be turned down for loans compared to their white counterparts at traditional banks. While Black banks don’t completely mitigate the racism seemingly inherent in banking practices, they do provide services to neighborhoods and families which otherwise may be entirely overlooked. This is particularly important in cities like Philadelphia, where, like many U.S. cities, segregation keeps Black families from economic opportunity.
United Bank of Philadelphia was founded in 1992 to address this gap and to provide exceptional banking service to downtown and northern Philadelphia. They not only made it their mission to give special focus to their BIPOC customers, they also created their board and upper management with Black financial experts. This commitment coupled with their personal understanding of the banking needs of Black customers makes them a fantastic Better Banking Option for anyone looking to support Black communities in the Philly area.
A CDFI as well as an MDI, United Bank of Philadelphia isn’t a particularly great bank when it comes to housing loans, but housing still makes up about 15% of the loans they make. However, they do an exceptional amount of small business lending, using about 40% of their assets for this purpose. They’re still a fairly small bank, with only three locations, all of them in Philadelphia. Very few neighborhoods in Philly are classified as low- and moderate-income census tracts, however, all United Bank’s branches are located in either downtown or northern Philadelphia, which are majority Black areas.
United Bank of Philadelphia is one of our top picks for banks in Philly, not only because of how well they serve their customers but also because of which customers they strive to serve. We’d particularly recommend them to anyone looking to support Black communities in the city. They offer both online and mobile banking, so anyone looking to support Black families in Philly can sign up for an account through their website. Support financial equity for Black families and move your money today!