AB1177 seeks the creation of BankCal, a bank for undocumented immigrants in California.
Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The California Public Banking Options Act, or Measure AB1177, sponsored by Santiago, Carrillo, Chiu, Garcia, Kalra, Lee, Ting, Wicks, Gipson, seeks the creation of BankCal which, they say, "closes the financial services gap, strengthens the economy, and ensures equitable economic recovery by providing a stable and accessible platform for underserved communities especially affected by the pandemic".
And, they say, one in two households in communities of African descent and Latinos do not have banking services such as checking or savings accounts. They state that these needs "are fundamental to financial stability.
Figures provided by BankCal on its website explain the need to pass AB1177, noting that one in four California households have no or insufficient access to personal banking services. Forty-seven percent of California households earn less than $15 an hour and are therefore unbanked.
Such is the case of 46 percent of African-American households in California that are underbanked, they say. This is in addition to 44 percent of households of people with disabilities and 41 percent of households owned by people in the Latino community.
The measure, they announce, "addresses inequities in financial services that acutely affect communities that have been hardest hit by the pandemic and the recession: discrimination, predatory lending, evictions and vicious spirals of debt.
BankCal provides accounts and debit cards with no fees or penalties for account management or minimum balance. A bank account where employers can directly deposit their salary, as well as obtaining financial incentives from the state, the possibility of direct debit of utility bills and donations.
With such a bank account, it is expected that the user will begin to generate income and, subsequently, be eligible to receive credit or begin to build their credit history. In addition, as a last point, he points out the importance of advising people on financial education.
