When it comes to how people want to spend and save their money, a new report from U.S. Bank (No. 18 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021) reveals that Black Americans are significantly more interested in supporting their community and creating a lasting legacy for their families than banking customers of other races.
The finding comes from the Minneapolis-based company’s recent Building Black Wealth Insights research report, which studied the spending and saving habits of more than 4,000 Asian, Black, Caucasian and Hispanic men and women across the country.
According to U.S. Bank, “the respondents [in the survey] were sole, primary or joint financial decision-makers in their households. More than half of the respondents (2,062) had investable assets greater than $100,000; 1,008 respondents had investable assets of $25,000 to $100,000 and 954 participants were 21-40 years old, had a college degree, were working full time and had household incomes ranging from $55k-$90k depending on age.”
Based on that research, here are some of the highlights U.S. Bank called out from its study:
- “61% of Black respondents feel better about their current financial situation than they did before the pandemic, compared to 49% for Hispanic, Asian and Caucasian respondents.”
- “77% of Black respondents think the racial wealth gap will either increase or, best-case scenario, remain the same by 2030.”
- “79% of Black respondents feel there are still institutional roadblocks impeding their ability to accumulate wealth; this number was even higher for Black female single head-of-household respondents (85%).”
- “69% of Black consumers, far more than other racial groups surveyed, feel a deep sense of responsibility to help their communities financially; they also are more committed to leaving a financial legacy for the next generation.”
- “Black respondents are far more likely than non-Black respondents to feel a sense of duty to lift their communities financially.”
- “Black respondents are deeply committed to advancing the Black community through the ‘each one, teach one’ concept – the idea of passing knowledge or learnings on to someone else.”
- “66% of all Black respondents feel their community is at a disadvantage compared to Hispanics (37%), Asians (17%) and Caucasians (7%) who feel this way about their respective communities in terms of wealth accumulation.”
- “Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) feel a sense of responsibility to their community (compared to 58% of Hispanic respondents, 35% of Asian respondents and 28% of Caucasian respondents).
- “Twice as many Black respondents describe financial success as leaving a legacy compared to their white counterparts (20% vs. 10%). They are also more likely than white respondents to define success as being able to help the next generation (26% vs. 16%).”
U.S. Bank officials said they hope they can now carry over the lessons and takeaways they learned from the report to aid in the continuing battle against the racial wealth gap within the United States. The company said this work involves helping individuals and communities of color advance economically, supporting businesses owned by people of color, and enhancing career opportunities for employees and prospective employees of color. It’s also the basis of the company’s Access Commitment program — a recent $116-million financial commitment to address social and economic inequities across the country.
“We understand that, as advisors who work every day to help clients achieve better financial outcomes, our industry has an important role to play and much more work to do to reduce the racial wealth gap,” Gunjan Kedia, vice-chair of Wealth Management and Investment Services at U.S. Bank, said in a summary of the company’s ongoing commitment and goals. “This research highlights many steps we can take as an industry to better serve the Black community.”
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