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Wells Fargo remains under the spotlight as investors respond to the financial giant’s recent announcement of workforce reduction plans. The news, which surfaced in late 2023, revealed that Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf shared plans to cut the company’s workforce, anticipating severance costs ranging between $750 million to $1 billion during the fiscal fourth quarter of last year. This strategic move follows earlier layoffs at Wells Fargo disclosed last month, totaling 11,300 jobs or 4.7% of its workforce in 2023. The company’s approach under Scharf’s leadership aims to maintain a workforce presence near its various hubs across the United States. Why Are The Wells Fargo Layoffs Happening The decision to reduce headcount comes in the wake of Wells Fargo’s ongoing efforts to navigate challenges in the economic landscape. Last month, Scharf highlighted the necessity of these payments, citing the need for the company to adjust its workforce amid persistently low turnover rates. In...
Education advocates have worked to ensure K-12 curriculums are more in line with real-world expectations for years. One of the most pointed topics for curriculum redesign has been the inclusion of classes related to financial literacy. In 2022, the National Endowment for Financial Education released a report highlighting the nationwide efforts to make this advocacy work a reality for students. And for some who attend a historically Black school in North Carolina, that reality has been leveled up. Hands-on instruction has taken on a new meaning for the students of Hillside High School as it has opened a bank on its campus in Durham.
The global neobanking market is expected to reach an estimated $723 billion by 2028, according to Grand View Research. As more people handle their finances online, the neobanking industry has been getting a lot of love, but what are neobanks anyway? Neobanks are digital-only financial institutions that operate similarly to traditional banks, but without physical branches, The Balance explains. You typically access neobanks through mobile applications and online platforms. While neobanking can be convenient, have lower costs and are more easily accessible, they don’t have the same accreditation as traditional banks and are regulated much less. Above all, neobanking requires access to technology and internet, a luxury that not everyone has. Another thing to think about with neobanking is that even with access to technology and internet, consumers have to be comfortable and trust tech in order to invest in using online-only banking systems. Some neobanks like N26, Atom Bank and Monzo...
Some executives at Arlington, Virginia-based Ingenious Financial are planning to raise $10 billion to provide more tech to unbanked and underserved communities. Ingenious Financial Founder Darnell Parker and COO Derek Taylor are leading this investment, the company shared in a press release. The pair decided to raise this capital after finding that many Black residents across the nation still don’t have access to computer tech in their homes. This technology gap leads to more financial insecurity, so Parker and Taylor are raising $10 billion through the private Federal Reserve corporation emergency lending program to serve unbanked and underbanked communities. “All relevant policy narratives point towards an inclusive environment,” said Taylor in a press release. “But you cannot have an inclusive environment without African American controlled businesses and ownership.” Once they’ve raised the funds, Parker and Taylor plan to disperse the capital across four main initiatives: $4...
First Boulevard Bank, a digital bank aimed toward Black America, has announced that it’s raised $5 million in its initial seed funding round. According to TechCrunch, the digital bank got its seed funding from a diverse group of investors that includes actress Gabrielle Union, Union Square Ventures’ John Buttrick, and AutoZone CFO Jamere Jackson. Barclays and Anthemis rounded out the funding. First Boulevard Bank — formerly known as Tenth — was co-founded by Donald Hawkins and Asya Bradley, who said that they were inspired to do so in the wake of the George Floyd murder, according to TechCrunch. Hawkins also said that he was inspired to found First Boulevard Bank when he realized that the collective spending power of Black America was in the trillions, but that there were only 19 Black-owned banks in the United States with $5 billion in assets. “And their technology was really behind the times,” Hawkins said, according to TechCrunch. “We also took a hard look at some of the existing...