City-parish launches program to broaden bank access

“Bank on Baton Rouge,” an initiative aimed at making bank accounts more accessible for low-income individuals, was unveiled today by Mayor Kip Holden and local financial leaders. The public-private partnership is intended to help those who rely on check-cashing centers or other fee-based alternatives for the cashing of paychecks. Under the program, participating institutions charge reduced or no fees to open savings and checking accounts, waive monthly minimum balance requirements and eliminate certain overdraft charges. A 2009 study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found more than one-quarter of all U.S. households relied on alternative financial services. Of these 30 million households, about 9 million were “unbanked,” meaning that they did not have a checking or a savings account. Another 21 million are considered “underbanked” because they may have had an account but still used the alternative services. Participating financial institutions include Baton Rouge City Parish Employees’ Federal Credit Union; Liberty Bank; Baton Rouge Telco Federal Credit Union; Neighbors Federal Credit Union; Pelican State Credit Union; Campus Federal Credit Union; Regions Bank; Capital One Bank; Southern Teachers & Parents Credit Union; Dow Louisiana Federal Credit Union; State Bank & Trust Company; E Federal Credit Union; and Teche Federal Bank. For more information, call 2-1-1 or click here.