A black man holding a piggy bank. © Roijoy - Fotolia.com

From Madame Noire Business:

Black-owned banks once offered financial credit and stability to the African American community. The Huffington Post found that the number of black-owned banks across the nation has decreased drastically. “In 1994, 54 such banks were identified by the FDIC; now there are just 28,” reports HuffPo.

One city where minority banks have been hit hard is Chicago. According to Chicago Business, “Before the financial crisis that hit in 2008, the Chicago area was home to 17 banks owned by or focused on lending to minorities. Six since have failed, and five are saddled with so much in troubled assets that their futures are in question.”

What remains are five banks catering to African Americans, one to Hispanics, and six to Asian Americans. But even these are struggling to stay open; two black-owned banks, Covenant Bank and Highland Community Bank, and one Asian lender, American Metro Bank, are trying to find funding in order to continue operating. The one remaining Latino bank, Aztec-America Bank, and another Asian bank, United Trust Bank, have high levels of troubled assets, which means they too might close their vaults.

Read the rest of this story on Madame Noire Business.