By Claire Carlson for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Emily Scott for Arkansas News Service reporting for The Daily Yonder-Public News Service Collaboration

Expanding economic opportunities to rural areas in the Deep South is at the forefront of the work of the most recent recipient of a prestigious annual award that honors the achievements of individuals making long-lasting community contributions.

The recipient, William (Bill) Bynum, received the Heinz Award for the Economy for his work with HOPE Credit Union, a full-service financial institution with branches in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. HOPE serves low-wealth communities that don't have access to the tools for financial success.

"The jurors gravitated towards candidates whose work has the potential for 'generational reverberations'," said Kim O'Dell, director of the Heinz Awards. "They noted Mr. Bynum's commitment to improving economic opportunities by moving capital to historically marginalized populations as well as the scale and replicability of his work."

The Heinz Family Foundation honors several individuals each year for their contributions to the arts, environment, public policy, human condition, and economy. The award was started in 1993 by Teresa Heinz to honor people working in the fields most valued by her late husband, H. John Heinz III, who represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House and Senate.

"Mr. Bynum has an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of others," said O'Dell. "His work personifies Senator John Heinz's belief that people have the power and responsibility to make the world a better place."

Many of the members of HOPE are first time users of a traditional bank.

"Almost half of our members didn't have a bank account before they joined the credit union," said Bynum. "They relied on high-cost check cashers and payday lenders who take advantage of those who can least afford to pay."

HOPE opens branches in communities with low capital to stimulate the local economy and improve financial conditions for people who have not been able to accumulate savings or assets because of generational wealth extraction by entities like predatory loan companies. HOPE works to provide people the ability to get out of debt, improve their quality of life, become home and business-owners, and influence economic policy.

To Bynum, these initiatives are key to advancing economic justice for disenfranchised communities.

"In a country that is increasingly diverse, we can't leave the majority of the population on the outside of the economy," said Bynum. "It undermines the stability of the entire economy and it is counter to our collective interest."

Between April 2020 and April 2021, HOPE issued over 5,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans that allowed businesses to retain their employees during the pandemic.

According to Bynum, HOPE issued loans to businesses unable to obtain paycheck protection loans through the banks they already had existing relationships with. Many of these were Black-owned small businesses that were less likely to receive loans through traditional banking institutions, according to a recently released case study from Purdue University and Harvard Business School on the Paycheck Protection Program. If these businesses did receive them, it was from nonbank lenders like fintechs, which provide loans online.

The loans distributed by HOPE kept Black-owned businesses afloat during a time when they were facing closures at an extremely high rate: 41% of all Black-owned businesses in the United States closed between February and April of 2020, according to a report by the House Committee on Small Business.

"Each of those loans helps stabilize jobs in very low-income communities," said Bynum. "We were in a very fortunate position to extend the lifeline to these entrepreneurs. "

HOPE has also initiated a Transformational Deposit program. This program imports capital into wealth-starved communities through deposits funded by individuals, institutional depositors, financial advisors, banks, and any other entity willing to participate in the program.

Unlike traditional banks that use the funds from their customers' low or no-cost checking and savings accounts for loans, accounts with HOPE do not have enough funds to draw from to provide loans to local businesses and initiatives like housing and healthcare. Instead, this money needs to be brought in from elsewhere. In spring of 2020, Netflix made a $10 million deposit, and companies like Dick's Sporting Goods and Paypal followed suit.

"We've raised over $100 million in transformational deposits in the past year, which enables us to finance a lot of homes, small businesses, grocery stores, schools, and health centers across the rural Deep South," said Bynum.

It is accomplishments like these that drove the Heinz Family Foundation to present Bynum with the Heinz Award.

"The enormity and timeliness of the issues Mr. Bynum addresses made it critically important to celebrate his work," said O'Dell.

Included in the award is an unrestricted $250,000. Bynum plans to use some of the money to further the work at HOPE, with a portion of it already allocated to the institution's policy center. He also hopes to build an endowment that would enable HOPE to take the voices of the people they serve and ensure their perspectives are considered when policymakers decide how to allocate resources.

"It's certainly an incredible honor to be associated with the Heinz family and they've given me an opportunity to dream a bit about how to best put the resources to work," said Bynum.

To read The Daily Yonder's full interview with Bynum, click here.

Claire Carlson wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


get more stories like this via email

Wisconsin lawmakers recently debated reforms for payday loans. Efforts to protect consumers come amid new research about financial pain associated with cash advances offered through smartphone apps. The Center for Responsible Lending is out with findings that detail how "earned wage advances" from digital platforms come with extra costs disguised as things like tips. Traditional payday lenders are often criticized for charging excessive interest rates on loans that are usually around $500.

Lucia Constantine, a researcher with the Center for Responsible Lending, said customers are usually seeking smaller amounts from the apps, but she warns they can be just as costly.

"They are trapping consumers in a cycle of borrowing that is similar to that of a payday loan, " she said.

The report said after using these financial products, customers are seeing overdrafts on their checking accounts increase by 56% on average. Industry leaders deny they're barraging consumers with hidden fees, stressing that features such as suggested tips are optional. More broadly, a bipartisan payday loan reform bill in the Wisconsin Legislature failed to advance this month.

Constantine said like longstanding payday lenders, these cash advance apps can be hard to regulate. Meanwhile, she urged those in a bind to explore other options.

"[They should] try talking to their friends and family as a first source. The other option which I would recommend is reaching out to their credit union or banking institution to see if they can get some sort of small-dollar loan," she said.

She noted places such as credit unions typically provide more transparency on loan costs. According to the report, three-quarters of consumers took out at least one advance on the same day or day after a re-payment was posted.


get more stories like this via email

Food prices remain high, in Montana and across the country.

A new report by the Federal Trade Commission says the country's largest grocery companies are gouging consumers, by keeping prices artificially high.

Many grocers, retailers and wholesalers have consolidated to cut costs. Grocers continue to blame supply chain problems, even though regulators have said most of those issues have been resolved.

President of the advocacy group Farm Action, Angela Huffman, said retailers were doing more than making up for lost revenue during the pandemic-era supply chain disruptions - and the FTC report says they continue to do so.

"In 2021, the retailer revenues, they rose to more than 6% higher than their total costs, and that those profits are still going up," said Huffman. "So, in the first nine months of 2023, the profits increased to 7%."

At nearly 6.5%, Montana had the nation's ninth-highest grocery price increase in 2023.

The FTC data show Amazon, Kroger and WalMart each gained market share during and after the pandemic - while profits continued to rise.

Other large retailers and wholesalers have consolidated, which they say gives them more buying power and the ability to pass those savings on to customers.

Huffman said that isn't what's happening, and calls on regulators to fine the grocers, or more.

"This would be kind of the farthest extent of what they could do, but go so far as breaking them up," said Huffman. "In years past, they broke up the telephone companies and the railroads and, you know, that would be the ideal outcome for us, is to take away their excessive power."

Huffman also points to a 150% increase in egg prices in 2023, which producers blamed on the avian flu. The FTC says the disease did not justify the drastic price hike.

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud.

One problem on the rise in the Southeast is the "impostor" scam, when scammers represent themselves as fake government agents or bogus businesses. They are really on the prowl for your cash and personal info, costing victims in North Carolina almost $190 million last year alone.

Natalya Rice, Southeast Regional attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, listed some key red flags to look out for.

"Utilizing a payment app, sometimes even cryptocurrency, things like that," Rice noted. "Anyone who contacts you from what seems like it could be a legitimate company or business, if they're asking you to send them money or some type of payment through one of these type of payment methods, that is a red flag that you're dealing with a scammer."

Other warning signs include requests to transfer your funds or even demands for a verification code to access an account. If you have concerns, Rice advised it is best to stop communication and contact the actual company directly. Still other scams big in the Southeast include online shopping, investments and job offers.

Nationwide, a record $10 billion was lost to scams in 2023.

More than 25,000 North Carolina residents reported possible identity theft last year. Rice recommends acting promptly when you realize or suspect you have been scammed. The first step is to contact your financial institution and report the incident to its fraud department. She added it is crucial to notify federal and state agencies for further investigation.

"You can go to reportfraud.ftc.gov and fill out a report there and let us know what happened," Rice noted. "In the state of North Carolina, there's also another place you'll want to report it to, and that's the North Carolina Attorney General's Office."

If you suspect your identity has been compromised, Rice stressed the FTC can assist you in developing a recovery plan. She added getting your money back is never guaranteed but the sooner a scam is reported, the sooner it can be investigated and other people can be warned.


get more stories like this via email