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A look at how banks perpetuate racial disparities : The Indicator from Planet Money Black-owned financial institutions are a shrinking part of the U.S. financial system. We look at what that means for America's entrenched racial disparities.

The Indicator from Planet Money

Why We Need Black-Owned Banks

Why We Need Black-Owned Banks

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7th January 1933: Customers wait in line at the Dunbar National Bank in Harlem, owned by and for African-Americans. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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Keystone/Getty Images
7th January 1933: Customers wait in line at the Dunbar National Bank in Harlem, owned by and for African-Americans. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Keystone/Getty Images

Black-owned banks are a shrinking part of the American financial system. There are currently only 21 Black-owned banks in the U.S., down from 36 a decade ago. Collectively they control just $4.8 billion, less than 1% of the nation's banking assets.

Today on The Indicator, we take a look at why this matters. Why we still need Black-owned banks, and why something as boring as banking lies at the heart of America's racial disparities.

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