GAITHERSBURG, Md. – This Washington, D.C., suburb and seven other cities is looking for credit unions and banks to offer unbanked residents lifeline savings accounts as part of a new National League of Cities campaign to encourage low-income families to begin banking with mainstream financial institutions.
The Bank on Cities campaign is modeled after Bank on San Francisco, an initiative that has added tens of thousands of underserved people to the credit union and banking rolls and launched in several other major cities, including Houston, San Antonio and Los Angeles.
The League of Cities is offering technical assistance and funding to roll out similar programs now in Indianapolis; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Denver, Colo.; Bryan, Texas; Rapid City, S.D., and Gaithersburg, a suburb 25 miles west of the nation’s capital.
Throughout the one-year project, the cities will receive intensive technical assistance from the League of Cities through conference calls, web seminars and meetings to engage in peer networking and share successful ideas. City officials will develop action plans to outline the city's goals in the Bank On Cities Campaign, using advice and resources from League staff and national experts.
During the first two years of Bank on San Francisco, more than 31,000 accounts were opened through 17 participating financial institutions, including eight credit unions.
Bank On Cities Campaign is supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
