Non-profit Banking and The Five Cs of Credit
On Friday, the 9th of
December, Kat Taylor came to speak to our 5th
grade class. She is a former
parent at our school who co-founded One PacificCoast Bank with her husband, Tom
Steyer. It is a non-profit bank in Oakland with the goal of providing helpful fair banking services to less fortunate communities. She
spoke to us why it is important to give loans to people who would normally not
be able to get them.
She also taught us the 5 C’s of Credit (the elements a
borrower should have to receive credit)
- Capacity (the ability to pay the loan back)
- Capital (available money)
- Collateral (valuable things the bank can own until the money is paid back)
- Conditions (of the borrower and the environment the borrower lives in)
- Character (the quality of the person). Middle and high-income people are lucky because banks are kinder to them.
There is also a sixth C which she
added after the suggestion of an MCDS fifth grader a few years ago: Community (it is important to have a
supportive community)
One PacificCoast Bank treats
everyone the same, no matter their income.
By Ben Buder
