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JPMorgan Chase has begun removing any mention of its DEI efforts from its website, according to The Wall Street Journal. As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, had vowed to maintain its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as well as environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies, despite pushback from the conservative National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC). The center had also suggested that JPMorgan Chase, which employs 300,000 people globally, reexamine executive compensation tied to DEI goals — an initiative it introduced in 2020 through its “accountability framework.” That same year, the company had launched a $30 billion program to promote racial equity in personal finance as well. In response to the recent pushback, Dimon said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month, “Bring them on. We are going to continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the...
As Americans race toward yet another nail-biter of a presidential election , things like inflation and cost of living continue to rise at a seemingly untenable rate. Many people have been forced to cut back on necessities, pay bills late or even resort to living in cars and tents to try to survive this stifling economic climate. After only a few short years, it seems as though the YOLO economy has officially come to an end. For those not in the loop, the YOLO economy was a period of prosperity borne of the COVID-19 pandemic , which allowed many Americans to spend with reckless abandon for a few short years. Now that the era of YOLO seems to be going the way of the dodo bird, it seems like as good a time as any to examine what the economic system entailed, where the term comes from, and why financial trends have shifted the landscape in the way that they have. Without any further preamble, let’s unpack the history of the YOLO years, and see if we can predict what comes next for those...
From seeing birthday vacations to Mexico or weekly spa visits on social media, it’s easy to feel like you should spend your money on life’s luxuries. But if you have plans to pay off your debts or build up your savings, the need for financial limits is crucial to reaching your goals. The latest financial trend taking over TikTok is “loud budgeting,” the no-shame approach to discussing financial boundaries and personal financial limits. As “loud budgeting” gains momentum, its bold approach to financial management becomes increasingly recognized and supported by financial experts due to the data on American spending in recent years. According to a November survey of 2,098 adults conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Credit Karma, 69% of Americans reported having financial regrets in 2023. Additionally, 53% stated that their financial situation deteriorated last year, with 31% expressing regret over not saving enough money and 22% lamenting excessive spending. The numbers show that...
The latest TikTok challenge taking over our timelines, the #NoSpendJanuary challenge, is a new approach to savings that urges individuals to resist unnecessary spending. Scrolling through the #NoSpendJanuary hashtag, you see a sneak peek into people’s regular spending habits. Although we’re almost through the month, it’s never too late to learn valuable financial lessons and collect helpful resources to mend unhealthy spending habits. It’s not just about the challenge itself, but a space for learning the diverse financial habits of entrepreneurs, business owners, content creators and professional’s financial habits in the new year . Creator of the award-winning “Millennial In Debt” web series, Melissa Jean-Baptiste is a testament to financial wins through a frugal lifestyle . A first-generation Haitian-American, she paid off $102,000 in student loans on simply a teacher’s salary. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American household spent $72,967 in 2022....
Wells Fargo remains under the spotlight as investors respond to the financial giant’s recent announcement of workforce reduction plans. The news, which surfaced in late 2023, revealed that Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf shared plans to cut the company’s workforce, anticipating severance costs ranging between $750 million to $1 billion during the fiscal fourth quarter of last year. This strategic move follows earlier layoffs at Wells Fargo disclosed last month, totaling 11,300 jobs or 4.7% of its workforce in 2023. The company’s approach under Scharf’s leadership aims to maintain a workforce presence near its various hubs across the United States. Why Are The Wells Fargo Layoffs Happening The decision to reduce headcount comes in the wake of Wells Fargo’s ongoing efforts to navigate challenges in the economic landscape. Last month, Scharf highlighted the necessity of these payments, citing the need for the company to adjust its workforce amid persistently low turnover rates. In...
Education advocates have worked to ensure K-12 curriculums are more in line with real-world expectations for years. One of the most pointed topics for curriculum redesign has been the inclusion of classes related to financial literacy. In 2022, the National Endowment for Financial Education released a report highlighting the nationwide efforts to make this advocacy work a reality for students. And for some who attend a historically Black school in North Carolina, that reality has been leveled up. Hands-on instruction has taken on a new meaning for the students of Hillside High School as it has opened a bank on its campus in Durham.
Learning how to properly budget your income is one of the building blocks for attaining financial literacy. With keeping up with bills and unexpected expenses, it can become easy to slip onto a path of neglecting taking action in creating a game plan for monthly spending. Here are budgeting and saving apps led by Black founders that guide you to keep track of your coins.
Black Americans were short-changed amidst a promising time for refinancing home loans. According to Bloomberg’s analysis of federal mortgage data, Wells Fargo rejected nearly half of Black applicants who were looking to refinance their homes. Worsening matters, the banking giant approved applications for more lower-income white applications than the highest-earning Black applicants. Engineer Mauise Ricard III experienced Wells Fargo’s rejection firsthand after paying $560.43 to refinance his home in the suburbs of Atlanta. Richard was married to a doctor and had a credit score boasting over 800. The loan officer affirmed he could qualify for a fast-track appraisal. Yet, what should have been a clear green light turned into a string of issues. Bloomberg reports, Richard’s former home was in a predominantly Black neighborhood and he was told by the loan officer “perhaps the area is not eligible” for fast-track appraisal. Later, the loan officer told Richard his rate would increase by...
SoLo Funds is a capital marketplace reimaging how traditional lending platforms should operate in communities. Founders Rodney Williams and Travis Holoway created a solution to financially empower underserved communities. The fintech company was launched after witnessing the economic hardships of close peers and family members that arose during an unplanned emergency. In fact, most Americans can not afford a $1,000 surprise expense, according to a new survey. For cash-strapped Americans who do not have aid from family members or access to financial solutions, the founders pondered, “Where can they go for assistance?” This question served as the premise for SoLo Funds’ inception in 2015. The company prides itself in offering equitable solutions to build minority communities. Now through the company’s mobile app, individuals looking to acquire emergency capital can acquire a loan in less than 30 minutes. “For us, this is huge. I think about what the community bank is supposed to do...
Power couple Ciara and Russell Wilson never miss an opportunity to give back to their Seattle community. With Financial Literacy Month winding down, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback and his superstar wife took the opportunity to surprise hundreds of middle school students in their city with savings accounts to teach them a valuable lesson about investing and the value of money. According to The Seattle Times, Wilson and Ciara donated over $35,000 so each West Seattle Public School student could seed their own savings accounts with $40. The couple’s surprise arrangement was created in partnership with their Why Not You Foundation, the NFL Players Association and family fintech company Goalsetter. The Seattle Times reports that Goalsetter CEO Tanya Van Court started off the virtual lesson, alongside The Wilsons, teaching students about how to create wealth for themselves. “After these kids see or hear Russell Wilson in their classroom, I want them to see that they don’t need to aspire...
Your paycheck helps you live, but accumulating wealth takes more than a steady 9 to 5 with a nice salary. The average millionaire has seven streams of income. Rather than solely earning a salary from a single occupation, financial prosperity is generated by multiple investments that earn money without requiring active work, also known as passive income. If you’ve ever heard someone say, “it takes money to make money,” or something along the lines of, “rich people make money in their sleep,” you’ve heard about passive income. Take a look at the first Black female and male musicians to reach billionaire status, Rihanna and Jay-Z. Rihanna went nearly bankrupt then grew a $600 million net worth. The majority of Jay-Z’s income is the result of smart investments and business ventures, such as clothing lines, sports teams, music streaming and restaurants. The path to wealth building is rarely that straightforward, however. The racial wealth gap offers some proof. According to the 2019...
The global neobanking market is expected to reach an estimated $723 billion by 2028, according to Grand View Research. As more people handle their finances online, the neobanking industry has been getting a lot of love, but what are neobanks anyway? Neobanks are digital-only financial institutions that operate similarly to traditional banks, but without physical branches, The Balance explains. You typically access neobanks through mobile applications and online platforms. While neobanking can be convenient, have lower costs and are more easily accessible, they don’t have the same accreditation as traditional banks and are regulated much less. Above all, neobanking requires access to technology and internet, a luxury that not everyone has. Another thing to think about with neobanking is that even with access to technology and internet, consumers have to be comfortable and trust tech in order to invest in using online-only banking systems. Some neobanks like N26, Atom Bank and Monzo...
Some executives at Arlington, Virginia-based Ingenious Financial are planning to raise $10 billion to provide more tech to unbanked and underserved communities. Ingenious Financial Founder Darnell Parker and COO Derek Taylor are leading this investment, the company shared in a press release. The pair decided to raise this capital after finding that many Black residents across the nation still don’t have access to computer tech in their homes. This technology gap leads to more financial insecurity, so Parker and Taylor are raising $10 billion through the private Federal Reserve corporation emergency lending program to serve unbanked and underbanked communities. “All relevant policy narratives point towards an inclusive environment,” said Taylor in a press release. “But you cannot have an inclusive environment without African American controlled businesses and ownership.” Once they’ve raised the funds, Parker and Taylor plan to disperse the capital across four main initiatives: $4...
First Boulevard Bank, a digital bank aimed toward Black America, has announced that it’s raised $5 million in its initial seed funding round. According to TechCrunch, the digital bank got its seed funding from a diverse group of investors that includes actress Gabrielle Union, Union Square Ventures’ John Buttrick, and AutoZone CFO Jamere Jackson. Barclays and Anthemis rounded out the funding. First Boulevard Bank — formerly known as Tenth — was co-founded by Donald Hawkins and Asya Bradley, who said that they were inspired to do so in the wake of the George Floyd murder, according to TechCrunch. Hawkins also said that he was inspired to found First Boulevard Bank when he realized that the collective spending power of Black America was in the trillions, but that there were only 19 Black-owned banks in the United States with $5 billion in assets. “And their technology was really behind the times,” Hawkins said, according to TechCrunch. “We also took a hard look at some of the existing...
There’s no age limit on when people can learn financial literacy, according to mobile banking app Goalsetter. The Black-owned kids and family finance app announced that it has raised a $3.9 million seed capital round and plans to use the funds to accelerate subscriber growth and enhance its ability to further expand its platform, according to a press release. The funding round was led by Astia, with participation from other companies such as PNC Bank, Mastercard, US Bank, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Elevate Capital, Portfolia’s FirstStep Fund and Rising America Fund, and Pipeline Angels. In addition to those major investors, Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns’ guard Chris Paul, former NBA star Baron Davis, and ex-MLB player C.C. Sabathia all joined as individual investors in the revolutionary app. “We are proud to support Goalsetter in their mission to increase financial literacy in Black and Brown communities,” Durant shared in a statement. “Financial education is...