OneUnited Bank

1968

The vision for OneUnited Bank began with the formation of Unity Bank & Trust Company. Armed with $1.2 million in capital and located in Boston’s Dudley Dudley Square neighborhood, where over 30 percent of the community lives below the poverty line and nearly 20 percent of the land lies vacant, Unity Bank & Trust Company sought to revitalize the area by lending exclusively to local businesses and homeowners. This ambitious goal proved insurmountable given the bank’s limited resources.

1982

Although Unity Bank failed after less than a decade of operations, a newly organized bank, Bank of Boston Commerce, continued the legacy of African-American ownership and community re-investment. Boston Bank of Commerce expanded the model of community development to include partnerships with large corporations and government agencies. Over the ensuing years, a succession of chairmen, including United States Senator Edward Brooke, guided the Bank to a measure of prosperity and stability. With total assets of $157,183,000 and total deposits of $125,216,000 as of 31 December 2000, Boston Bank of Commerce filed for application to conduct a "merger transaction" with Founders National Bank, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, its four offices in operation and total resources of $107,009,000 and total deposits of $98,659,000 as of December 31, 2000. "Favorable" statutory factors, other relevant information and Comptroller of Currency reports led to the approval of the merger transaction application from Boston Bank of Commerce, by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Attorney General of the United States.

1990s

In the mid-1990s, following the economic downturn that adversely affected other northeast-based regional banks, Boston Bank of Commerce was placed under a Cease & Desist order by the FDIC and charged to increase capital and improve the quality of its loan portfolio. Its partnerships with corporations and government agencies and the loyalty of its customer base left an important legacy.

1995

A significant capital infusion by the now current Chairman & CEO Kevin Cohee and President & COO Teri Williams, along with a new strategy of acquiring African American-owned banks and thrifts in major metropolitan markets, ushered in a new era of prosperity for the institution. When the Bank’s current senior management team assumed control of Boston Bank of Commerce, the institution experienced negative equity and significant asset problems. As a result, the Bank became increasingly unprofitable, pushing the institution to the brink of failure. The team turned Boston Bank of Commerce around and subsequently acquired three (3) African-American owned banks over several years that were troubled or on the verge of failure.

1999

Boston Bank of Commerce became the first interstate African American-owned bank in the country through its acquisition of Peoples National Bank of Commerce, South Florida’s only African-American-owned bank.

2001

The institution merged with Founders National Bank of Los Angeles, bringing the largest banking market in the country, along with star power in the form of Founders’ majority owners: former Los Angeles Lakers superstar, NBA Hall of Famer and successful businessman Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Grammy Award-winning songstress Janet Jackson, and former Motown Records President Jheryl Busby.

2002

The application approval for the "merger transaction" made by Boston Bank of Commerce for Los Angeles-based Family Savings Bank, the largest African American-owned thrift in California, further added to its scale and efficiency and brought a legacy of successful experience lending to urban communities.

Boston Bank of Commerce launched its new name OneUnited Bank, on record with the FDIC as of 16 December 2002, to better reflect the bank’s mission, strategy and national brand. OneUnited implemented a plan that focused on its core strengths. It is the only African-American owned bank with significant acquisition and integration experience, and is one of a small pool of banks that is CDFI. The bank’s fully operational on-line banking capability performance has transformed the institution and strengthened its financial position.

In sum, OneUnited has succeeded principally by fulfilling its community development mission through sound banking practices, state-of-the-art technology, strong financial performance and effective marketing campaigns to establish and develop its brand.

OneUnited has built a national brand through many innovative initiatives, including:

OneUnited has succeeded because it has managed to create a brand that symbolizes success among African-Americans, thereby attracting customers to the Bank and reinforcing its position of community leadership. The brilliance of the strategy, under the leadership of the bank’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Cohee and its President & Chief Operating Officer Teri Williams, is one in which the bank has been able to build a preeminent national brand at a fraction of the cost typically associated with such an endeavor. Branding has totally reshaped the image of OneUnited and the financially weak institutions it acquired. The bank has now been re-positioned as a successful bank with national operations. OneUnited Bank looks forward to entering new markets and working with strategic partners to continue making socially responsible investments that foster sustained economic development within urban communities.

2008- 2009

In the latter part of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, OneUnited experienced financial challenges as their equity investment in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae became worthless. In order to stabilize the institution, the Bank applied for and received $12 million from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Since 2009, the bank has demonstrated sustained profitability, and is emerging as a source of financial strength, and catalyst for wealth creation within the communities it serves.

2014

In January, 2014, OneUnited introduced the UNITY Visa secured credit card. The card is called the Comeback Card and targets individuals who are looking to rebuild their credit and their lives. The card includes a “How To Rebuild Credit Program” to educate cardholders on ways to improve their credit score. OneUnited Bank received recognition as a Notable IT Initiative from Community Banks by American Banker for the UNITY Visa Card Me app that allows consumers to apply for the card and, if they are approved, it allows them to open a deposit account to fund it.

OneUnited Bank partnered with Salesforce.com to provide a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution for its branch staff on iPads. Under the leadership of OneUnited Bank Chief Information Officer, James Slocum, the bank is using Salesforce1 to support service delivery and sales in each of its branches located in Boston, Los Angeles and Miami.

UNITY Visa

The UNITY Visa card is a secured credit card issued by OneUnited Bank that debuted on January 15, 2014. The card is nicknamed the Comeback Card and targets individuals who are looking to rebuild their credit. The card includes a “How To Rebuild Credit” Program to educate cardholders on ways to improve their credit score.

Rebuilding credit

In an interview with Rodney Baltimore of Hot 105 FM in Miami, Teri Williams, President and Cofounder of OneUnited Bank, spoke of how the card was designed to help people who have struggled with credit in the past rebuild their credit as the credit card does report to the three major credit bureaus. Williams also said that OneUnited Bank has constructed a How to Rebuild Credit Program for cardholders to learn the basics of credit. In addition, Williams noted that the bank hopes to have financial workshops in individual branches in the future.

How to Rebuild Credit Program

The UNITY Visa Card provides a step-by-step guide to help cardholders rebuild their credit. The information is presenting on OneUnited’s website and is also mailed and emailed to cardholders to prompt their participation in the How to Rebuild Credit Program.

Financing and fees

Because it’s a secured credit card, cardholders must make an initial security deposit to establish their credit. The minimum is $250 and the maximum is $10,000. The deposit is Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured. The card is accepted anywhere Visa cards are accepted. The card has a fixed APR and fees for the card include an annual fee as well as penalty fees, transaction fees, and service fees when those situations arise.

Enrollment

Individuals can apply for the card at individual OneUnited branches as well as online on OneUnited’s website. The card is designed for people with poor or bad credit, who want to rebuild their credit. OneUnited Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC.

Marketing

The focus of the UNITY Visa was to tap into a market dominated by pre-paid cards. Williams and other OneUnited representatives have noted that the UNITY Visa does not "nickel and dime you like the prepaid cards." The card is nicknamed the Comeback Card to highlight the fact that card can help an individual rebuild their credit through credit reporting and education services. This again was done to differentiate itself from the pre-paid card market.

Controversy

While OneUnited has grown its operations in the Los Angeles area, regulators from the Massachusetts Division of Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said there has been “minimal lending activity” in Boston. They also cited a lack of lending in the Miami market that amounted to “Substantial Noncompliance. OneUnited has made or purchased just 34 loans in Massachusetts in three years, according to the report. Of those, 26 took place in Suffolk County, where the bank operates three offices. In 2013, the bank expanded lending and refinancing for mostly multifamily properties in Los Angeles, issuing 78 loans. But it made just eight loans in Boston and three in Miami. Nationally, only nine of the bank’s loans last year were made to low- or moderate-income borrowers. Beginning November 1, 2014, OneUnited removed online and over-the-phone credit card balance pay services. Bank branches that currently provide these services over-the-counter are only located in the metropolitan areas of Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles. Sending a check by mail is the current defacto payment method for Unity Credit Card holders who reside long distances from bank branches.

Awards

In 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, OneUnited Bank won the Treasury Department's highest award – The Bank Enterprise Award.