3 ms·
I wonder if you could build a viable bank/credit union with the specific focus to provide free/extremely lost cost banking to persons who otherwise don't have a
by serge2k 11y ago
I wonder if you could build a viable bank/credit union with the specific focus to provide free/extremely lost cost banking to persons who otherwise don't have access. Perhaps subsidized by patrons with more money.
- bitwize 11y agoThis has been done. Remember the 2008 housing crisis? That's what the bad MBSes were: subsidizing those who couldn't make their mortgage payments with money from those who could, by packaging the bad loans and good loans together. I know we're talking about checking accounts. That was tried too -- it was called Washington Mutual, and they were my bank when I was finding my legs out in Portland, OR. Free checking account, no questions asked? Sure, I'll take that. Biggest bank crash in U.S. history. So no, such a financial institution is not viable as such. It would have to be run explicitly as a charity. There are no easy solutions here. To change the situation will require multiphasic, multipartite, cultural AND systemic efforts.
- shimn 11y ago> I know we're talking about checking accounts. That was tried too -- it was called Washington Mutual, Is there evidence to suggest the "free checking account no questions asked" was large portion of it being one of the "Biggest Bank crash in U.S. history". It looks like Washington Mutual crashed for the same reason the others did: it had all this loans out on people who couldn't pay them. Not because it offered checking/savings accounts to underprivileged. It's weird you reference the 2008 collapse then fail to mention that being the exact time when WaMu crashed.