THIQUES ET RELIGIONS POUR UNE CONOMIE JUSTE

CIRID 2014 CONFERENCE Fondation Singer-Polignac Paris, France

January 23-24, 2014

EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC EXCLUSION ON LOW

WEALTH AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IN ST LOUIS, MO:

A SIMULATION OF PAYDAY LENDING
Romona Taylor-Williams, President-CEO Metro St Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity (M-SLICE) & Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, Founding Director Grap.se & Research Associate CMSS-University of Western Australia (UWA)

AGENDA
Alternative Financial Services a.k.a. Payday lending Bank redlining: a glimpse of economic injustice Economic justice: existing instruments The results: when institutions and systems fail to enforce instruments of justice
example 1 example 2 example 3 example 4 example 5

Challenging economic injustice Contact info

Alternative Financial Services a.k.a Payday lending

Characteristics of payday loans
Less or equal to US$500 Targets low wealth, people of color & the elderly Simulation of APR in a typical payday loan

Brief Stats

Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, April 2013

(Missouri (MO) Division of Finance, 2011 Report on payday lending industry) MO population < 6million, app. 2.43 million payday loans Average loan size increase from $290 (2009) to 307 (2011) Average APR grew from 431% to 444% (increased fees)

Shock
MO state law allows up to 1980% APR Interfaith efforts capping interest rate at 36% by religious community leaders (Protestants, Catholics, Jewish) Efforts were quashed by powerful payday lending lobbyists

Bank redlining: a glimpse of economic injustice

State of Bank Reinvestment in St. Louis , St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance, August 2013

INSTRUMENTS OF JUSTICE
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction

Fair Housing Act of 1968

Congress passed the act in an effort to impose a comprehensive solution to the problem of unlawful discrimination in housing based on race, color, sex, national origin, or religion.

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977

Passed in 1977, CRA makes redlining, or discrimination against neighborhoods illegal

THE RESULTS: WHEN INSTITUTIONS AND SYSTEMS FAIL TO ENFORCE INSTRUMENTS OF JUSTICE
Transgenerational asset & wealth stripping Predatory lending practices including payday lending Decreased property values & decreased equity Gentrification & increased rents / property taxes Despair & loss of hope Increased crime, violence & incarceration rates Environmental injustice Overall diminished quality of life

BEYOND THE ARCH: NORTH OF DELMAR

Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, April 2013

ILLUSTRATION 1: 3rd Ward

Carter Carburator Superfund Site

ILLUSTRATION 2: 3rd Ward

Romona Taylor-Williams, July 2012

ILLUSTRATION 3: 4th Ward

Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, April 2013

ILLUSTRATION 4: 1st Ward

Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, April 2013

ILLUSTRATION 5: 3rd Ward

Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, April 2013

CHALLENGING ECONOMIC INJUSTICE

St Louis Regional Unbanked Taskforce St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) US Department of Justice US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial Institutions Regulatory Agencies
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) OCC (Office of the Comptroller of Currency) FRBS (Federal Reserve Bank System) SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)

Romona Taylor-Williams, CEO & President Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity (M-SLICE) rftwilliams@gmail.com www.mslice.org

Anne-Sophie Gintzburger, Founding Director Grap.se & Research Associate CMSS-University of Western Australia (UWA) anne-sophie@grap.se https://grap.se