Amalgamated Bank operates out of 13 branches in New Yor

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Amalgamated Banks Products and Programs to Reach
the Un-banked and Under-banked

• Presented to
• The FDIC Chairmans Advisory Committee on
  Economic Inclusion

February 5, 2009 Presented by Peter Mosbacher,
Senior Vice President, Community Development
Division
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Bank Overview

• Amalgamated has a compelling and distinctive
  history that continues to influence its approach
  to banking and to serving its customers. The
  Bank was founded in 1923 to serve the banking and
  borrowing needs of union workers, and today
  continues to promote itself as a bank for
  working people. Because of its roots in the
  labor movement, Amalgamateds product offerings
  and pricing decisions are characterized by
  sensitivity to the unique needs of unions, union
  members, immigrants and working class individuals
  and families.

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Bank Overview

• Amalgamated Bank operates out of 13 branches in
  New York City. The Bank also maintains one branch
  in Lyndhurst, NJ, one branch in Pasadena, CA, one
  branch in Washington, D.C, and three supermarket
  branches in Las Vegas, NV.
• The Bank is in a growth mode and plans to add
  additional branches in N.Y.C. and in other cities
  over the next few years.

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Bank Overview

• The Bank has recently opened four branches in
  neighborhoods identified as Banking Development
  Districts (BDD) by the New York State Banking
  Department. These communities are underserved by
  the banking industry and are dominated by
  alternative service providers, which frequently
  charge high fees and minimal to no affordable
  banking products and services.
• South Bronx
• Long Island City, Queens
• Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
• Sunset Park, Brooklyn

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Bank Overview

• Amalgamated was the first bank in the country
  to offer totally free checking long before basic
  banking accounts were legally required in New
  York. That tradition continues today through a
  consumer checking account that has no monthly
  minimum balance requirements, no per check or
  maintenance charges, and no limits on the number
  of withdrawals or checks.

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Bank Overview

• Our Second Chance Account has been designed to
  help bring back into the fray individuals who
  have learned from previous mistakes.
• Features include
• No bounce protection
• Direct deposit preferred
• Minimum .01 to open checking and 5 for savings
• No minimum balance after opening
• Only an ATM card will be issued
• After one year of successful account use,
  customer can be upgraded to a full-service
  checking/savings account and receive a 50 credit
  for completing the Money Sense Financial
  Education Program

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Partnerships with Government and CBO s

• Bank on California is a collaborative,
  voluntary initiative that brings together the
  Office of the Governor, selected Mayors offices,
  financial institutions, community organizations,
  regional United Ways, and federal and state
  regulatory agencies to help the unbanked of
  California open starter bank accounts and enter
  the financial mainstream, where they can begin
  saving, build a credit history, gain access to
  lower-cost sources of credit, and invest for
  their future.
• The Banks Pasadena Branch is participating
  using our Second Chance Account product.

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Money Sense Financial Education

• In 2006, the Bank introduced Money Sense, an
  in-house branded financial education program
  developed in partnership with the Coalition for
  Debtor Education. The Coalition not only
  contributed to the creation of the Money Sense
  curriculum but also trains Bank employees to
  conduct sessions. Presented in 10 modules
  lasting 45-60 minutes each, the core curriculum
  focuses on behavioral finance and the psychology
  of money.

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Money Sense Financial Education

• To optimize the impact and effectiveness of
  Money Sense, Amalgamated Bank advises its branch
  employees to conduct education sessions only
  after establishing strong partnerships with
  third-party community organizations. These
  partnerships often involve unions, local
  development corporations, or religious
  institutions.
• Upon completion of at least four Money Sense
  workshops, participants are eligible to receive a
  50 coupon that can be redeemed at any Bank
  branch to establish a new savings account.

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Money Sense Financial Education

• The Bank also offers Money Sense education
  classes to its audience of union members in a
  particular industry and delivers lunch time
  seminars at the workplace to improve convenience
  and accessibility. Outreach visits serve as an
  opportunity to inform them about Group Advantage
  Banking, a package of discounted products and
  services and specifically packaged for union
  members enrolling with direct deposit.

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Group Advantage Banking Program

• Group Advantage Banking (GAB) is a valuable
  package of free and discounted banking services
  available at the customers place of business
  during business hours.
• Requires Direct Deposit enrollment and offers..
• Free checking
• Savings and money market accounts with no minimum
  balance requirements
• Online banking and bill pay
• No-fee ATM banking at over 32,000 AB and Allpoint
  Network ATMs nationwide
• Reduced rates on personal and auto loans
• Residential mortgages
• Free Lunch N Learn Money Sense Financial
  Education Workshops

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Partnerships with Unions

• The Bank sponsors the Municipal Employees
  Housing Program with Neighborhood Housing
  Services of NYC providing place-based counseling
  for DC37 Union members. The Program offers first
  time homebuyer workshops including post-purchase
  counseling in the areas of early delinquency
  intervention, foreclosure and predatory lending
  intervention and reverse mortgage counseling for
  retirees who currently own their homes.

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Partnership with Unions

• The Program allows DC37 members, and all NYC
  municipal workers, preference for 5 of units in
  city-sponsored lotteries for affordable homes and
  apartments and, as first time homebuyers, are
  eligible for down-payment grants of up to 6 of
  the purchase price through the NYC Department of
  Housing, Preservation Development. The Bank
  also participates at the Unions annual Housing
  Fair and establishes up to 100 new accounts each
  year.

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Partnerships with Unions

• In its Las Vegas market area, Amalgamated Bank
  has launched a payroll card product. As hotels,
  casinos, and other major employers begin moving
  toward mandatory direct deposit of paychecks, the
  Culinary and Bartenders Union expressed strong
  interest in the Bank offering a payroll card
  product because it will provide workers with an
  alternative to deposit accounts while meeting
  direct deposit requirements.

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Partnerships with Unions

• The Bank also deployed an ATM at the Unions
  headquarters, where payroll card customers pay a
  reduced surcharge to withdraw funds.
• The product will serve as an entry point for
  transitioning unbanked union members into deposit
  account customers and the economic mainstream.

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Partnerships with Government and CBO s

• The Bank recently launched a pilot program for
  rent payments in partnership with the New York
  City Housing Authority. Unbanked residents often
  pay their rent by cashing checks at alternative
  service providers and incurring high fees to
  purchase money orders and make payments. To
  reduce service fees and make the process more
  affordable for residents, the Bank signed an
  agreement with the Housing Authority to accept
  rent payments in cash for a small fee at branch
  locations, process the payments for remote
  capture, and transfer the payments to the Housing
  Authority.

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Partnerships with Government and CBO s

• In collaboration with the East River Development
  Alliance (ERDA) and the New York City Housing
  Authority (NYCHA), our Long Island City BDD
  Branch has supplemented ERDAs existing Wealth
  Building Academy with financial education
  programs that help unbanked individuals feel
  comfortable and welcome in bank branches. Each
  month, over 200 NYCHA residents come into the
  Bank to pay their rent and about half then
  proceed to open a basic banking, checking and/or
  savings account.