In Brief: Minority and Suburban Banks Teaming Up

United Bank of Philadelphia has teamed up with New Jersey's Commerce Bank for urban lending in the Delaware Valley.

United, founded by predominantly minority investors who bought branches and deposits from the Resolution Trust Corp., has had difficulty bulking up the loan side of its balance sheet. Community activists have attacked Cherry Hill-based Commerce for having no branches or loans in the inner city.

The two banks said they would join to expand regional residential and commercial development opportunities and would offer credit counseling and mortgage and lending services for first-time homebuyers and to homeowners in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods of the Philadelphia region.

The banks said they hope Commerce's mortgage programs will increase access to housing funds through United's neighborhood outreach programs.

The two banks also will focus on commercial lending to start-up businesses and to small to medium-size businesses that want to expand.

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