Bank branch closures a worry

Lower-income neighborhoods hit hardest by closings.

The latest trend of banks closing their branch offices because of advances in technology and lack of revenue and number of balances has robbed people of basic financial services in Dayton’s lower-income neighborhoods where they are needed the most, a community leader says.

Fifth Third Bank and Chase Bank announced earlier this year they are closing more than 400 branches across the U.S. This follows a trend of banks closing branches in West Dayton in the past five years.

The Standard Register Federal Credit Union on Campbell Street is the sole brick-andmortar serving residents in the zip code 45417, which covers a majority of west Dayton, one of the city’s most densely populated.

According to a national survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 20 percent of U.S. household were underbanked in 2013, meaning they had a bank account but also used alternative financial services outside of the banking system. One in 13 households did not have a bank account at all.

The FDIC’s findings do not include numbers for Dayton, but they do show that 30.5 percent of households in the tri-state region are either unbanked or underbanked.

Since the PNC in Westown Plaza closed in 2013, many people living in west Dayton have had to seek alternative financial services.

“More than likely, they’re going to go to a payday lender or a Kroger or something like that — something with cash checking services — and they’re going to pay fees,” said Catherine Crosby, executive director of the Dayton Human Relations Council.

In a community with a median household income of $25,361, those fees are especially burdensome.

Dayton resident Terrence Jones relies on the RTA to get to and from wherever he needs to go — including the