Campaign to Promote Use of Minority Banks

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Bankers Association {NBA} is teaming with a popular, nationally-syndicated radio talk show host, Warren Ballentine, to spearhead a national campaign to get minorities and other consumers in the urban areas to bank with minority banks.

A press conference to kick-off the campaign will be held Friday, July 15th at 12:00 noon at the headquarters of the National Bankers Association located at 1513 P St., NW, Washington, D.C.

The promotional campaign, being called "The People's Economic Movement," is being orchestrated to coincide with the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial statue in Washington, D.C. August 28, 2011.

According to Michael Grant, president of the NBA, "This self-help, empowerment movement is designed to stimulate much-needed economic development at our nation's urban core. By depositing their money in minority banks, getting mortgages, small business loans or loans for college tuition from banks in their communities, consumers begin a process of harnessing the economic strength of the masses in a way that creates direct benefits to their communities which are still suffering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."

Asked why the campaign is being called, "The People's Economic Movement," Radio One talk show host Warren Ballentine explained: "This recession has created not a moment in time but a movement in time. Community economic development will only come with an intelligent and targeted approach to managing money. By investing their money in the minority banks in their own communities, consumers will begin to see how to make capitalism work in their favor."

The National Bankers Association is a consortium of African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American and Native-American owned banks. The association's member banks operate branches in 29 cities located across America. In the aggregate, these banks have over $15 billion in assets and serve over 3 million depositors.

As an example of how little support minority banks are receiving from their potential customer base, economists have estimated that while the African-American community has over one trillion dollars in disposable income a year, it has been estimated that African-American owned banks manage less than 5% of the wealth in the communities that they serve.

"The People's Economic Movement" will include NBA banks from all over America - especially in urban communities.

Organizational leaders and celebrities who are supporting "The People's Economic Movement" are as follows:

Reverend AI Sharpton
Roger Campos
Reverend Frank Reid of Baltimore
Reverend Buster Soaries of Newark
Boris Kodjoe
CeCe Winans
Reverend Rudy Rasmus of Houston

SOURCE National Bankers Association