Greenspan: Minority Businesses Need More Financing Options

Reiterating his call to corporate America to pay greater attention to people of color, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said Friday that minority business owners must have greater access to equity financing.

Mr. Greenspan, speaking at a Wall Street conference organized by the Rainbow/Push Coalition, again emphasized the need to provide more than just credit to minority-owned companies.

"Unless minorities can have access to all forms of capital from which to create wealth, they will be denied the full benefits of our vibrant economy, in which all should be able to participate," he told 400 business and community leaders.

Mr. Greenspan was the last of several prominent speakers - including President Clinton, Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt - to address the three-day conference. The event was organized by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson and designed to expand opportunities for minorities and women in business.

In remarks preceding Mr. Greenspan's speech, Mr. Jackson said business, government, and labor groups need to find common ground so everyone may profit.

During his speech, Mr. Greenspan alluded to comments he had made in Los Angeles earlier in the week. Touring the area devastated by the 1992 riots, he and other top regulators asked banks to make a greater commitment to the inner cities.

Noting in his New York speech the growth of minority-owned businesses, Mr. Greenspan said the financial services sector should expand its relationships with these entrepreneurs.

Also, banks and securities firms should better utilize the talents of a diverse work force. This will only help increase business activity, he said.

"Discrimination is patently immoral, but it is now increasingly being seen as unprofitable," Mr. Greenspan said.

Mr. Greenspan was warmly received. When the Fed chairman lauded Mr. Jackson's efforts and turned to shake his hand, the audience stood and applauded, as they did when Mr. Greenspan first stepped up to the microphone.

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