John Hope Bryant

HOPE Snippet: Bryant to Speak at National Conference of Black Mayor's Conference

I am pleased to play a role in the coming national conference (which will include their international delegate of mayors as well) for the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM).

NCBM played a very positive and important role in assisting me and the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment, which I chair, in creating the first in a series of Local Financial Literacy Councils across the nation. Special commendation here goes to Vanessa Williams, executive director of the NCBM, who provided incredible leadership throughout this process.

For more information on the NCBM national conference click here.

John Hope Bryant

Council Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability Issues Final Report

The President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability met with President Barack Obama and his team earlier in the year, and now the Council's Final Report has been issued.  You can download it here.

As the Chairman of the Council Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment, we were proud to contribute, amongst other things, the following to the Final Report.

The Council’s report focuses on, amongst other things, improved coordination between local government, business, and community leaders.  Local financial capability councils, which are created and planned by state, tribal, and local leaders, were inspired by the President’s Advisory Council and will be critical in turning ideas into action.  Local leaders have the ability to bring together educators, business leaders, community organizers, and others in their neighborhoods committed to creating paths to success for community residents.  To help their efforts, the Council created a resources guide, which can be found here. 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum.  Mr. Bryant is a thought leader represented by the Bright Sight Group for public speaking. Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE), a specialty finance company that is managed by an affiliate of Ares Management LLC, a global alternative asset manager with approximately $59 billion in committed capital under management as of December 31, 2012. 

 

President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability Releases Final Report

By: Melissa Koide

3/21/2013

Helping young Americans build strong financial knowledge, skills, and habits will serve them well over their lives and promote sounder and more stable household economies.  This is one of several findings the Presi​dent’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability (Council) included in its final report to President Obama, which was delivered through the Department of the Treasury.

The Council’s report includes a number of recommendations to help improve the financial lives of American individuals and families.  First, the report finds a critical need to bring rigorous financial education to our young people.  Financial education is the foundation for better decision-making, and it should start early and continue to be taught in school. Treasury is responding to this recommendation by establishing a new agenda for the federal government to improve the financial knowledge of our young people through the federal Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), which Treasury chairs.  The 21 agencies that are a part of the FLEC are working to equip parents and teachers to be able to better educate students about money basics and paying for college, and help employers communicate with young workers about saving early for long-term needs like retirement. 

U.S. President's Council Subcommittee Receives Approval on Recommendations

John Hope Bryant reports subcommittee efforts to help Americans prepare and recover from disasters, student loan education

Washington, DC – November 28, 2012 – The President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability (Council) today approved two recommendations presented by the Council's Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment. Approved recommendations included understanding the value of financial and economic emergency disaster preparedness, response and recovery, as presented by John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO, and increasing college affordability, as presented by Samuel T. Jackson, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Economic Empowerment Initiative. The recommendations, which passed unanimously and are stated below, will go on to the President Obama for consideration that they be incorporated into the larger financial capability platform:

1. That the President of the United States and the Secretary of the Treasury integrate the field of emergency financial and economic disaster preparedness response and recovery into the broader financial capability efforts of the federal government, and invite the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to be a part of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC). 
2. That the President direct the appropriate federal agencies led by the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office, to establish an awareness campaign, which may be entitled, the Know Before You Apply (KBYA),  that leads the American people to studentaid.gov as the one-stop resource for students and families to increase college affordability and reduce student loan debt.

Report from the Council Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment

My chairmanship of the Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for President Barack Obama and the Obama Administration has focused on standing up a series of Local Financial Literacy Councils across the nation. Working in close cooperation with my friend and colleague Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Chair of the Council Subcommittee on Partnership, we originally announced a goal of 25 local Councils in 2012, and now report well over 100 Local Council commitments.

One of our early wins, which under Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray become operationalized earlier this year and very active, is the Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) Financial Literacy Council. Accordingly, it gives me great pleasure to report a recent deliverable from the DC Financial Literacy Council:

On Wednesday November 28th, The DC State Board of Education voted unanimously to require high school students to take a course in financial literacy upon graduation.  The DC State Board of Education and The Financial Literacy Council will meet to discuss further implementation requirements.  

 

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum.  Mr. Bryant is a though leader represented by the Bright Sight Group for public speaking. Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, an NYSE Euronext publicly traded company, and a division of $54 billion Ares Capital.

U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability Unanimously Passes Recommendation to Bring FEMA into Financial Capability Efforts of Federal Government

With the support of FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and FEMA Deputy Administrator Tim Manning, approximately 45 days ago the Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, which I chair serving President Barack Obama and the Obama Administration, considered and subsequently passed a key recommendation to the full Council that would incorporate the new field of emergency financial and economic disaster preparedness, response and recovery into the federal government policy framework around financial capability.  

I am pleased to report that this past week, at the Council meeting held at the U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday, November 27th, 2012, the full Council unanimously approved this same recommendation to the President and Secretary of the Treasury.  Chris Logan, chief of staff and counselor to the deputy administrator at FEMA, pictured above, was on hand when the vote was considered and carried at the meeting.

Subcommittee Media: Council Member Janie Barrera Takes in Action in Texas

Employers should offer workers financial education

Beyond making payroll, how much should employers do to help assure their paid workers are sensibly and efficiently handling their pay?

The answer could determine the success of the company.

Financial stress in households often is high, especially those living paycheck to paycheck. Employers can and should help in ways that don't necessarily involve high costs.

It's not a matter that is discussed enough publicly. It was earlier this week during a workplace financial literacy event staged by nonprofit lender Accion Texas Inc. and the San Antonio branch office of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank.

Only a handful of employers attended the event at the Bright Shawl, beyond those who were speakers, which was a shame. The number of area employers who should study this issue probably could fill the Alamodome.

Do employees have savings for personal emergencies? Do their families have proper insurance coverage? Are they saving for retirement? Do they understand how much babies cost if they are starting a family? Are they identity-theft victims? Do companies warn employees to avoid predatory lenders?

Employers should care not just because it is humane. Absenteeism and employee turnover rates are symptoms of employee financial stress. That hurts the bottom line at companies.

Free resources employers can use to provide workers with financial education include credit counseling services, the United Way, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve and the Texas Department of Banking.

 

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/business_columnists/david_hendricks/article/Employers-should-offer-workers-financial-education-3922358.php#ixzz2AnvVZtMN

American Banker Op-Ed: How to End the Homeownership Crisis

When federal regulators finally begin to analyze the national Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, they could conclude that the banking industry is engaged in widespread redlining that affects not only blacks and Hispanics, but all low and moderate income families.  Such a conclusion would be wrong, but not because the numbers are inaccurate.

The national HMDA data from the last year available from the Federal Reserve (2010) shows that less than 1% of home originations by all banks were made to low income families and only one in 11 were made to low to moderate income families. This data also shows that only 5% of all home loans were originated in primarily minority areas (defined as those 70% or more minority) and only one in 9 in neighborhoods with significant minority populations (those where 50% or more of residents are minorities).

This so-called redlining data also shows that only 4% of home loans were made to blacks despite their being 13% of the population and only 6% were made to Latinos, even though they represent 16% of the population. 

Although these statistics are accurate, there is no evidence that banks are deliberately redlining. Instead, we may have an unparalleled example of otherwise well-intentioned government policies causing inadvertent redlining on a scale that may be unprecedented in American history. What's that saying, “no good deed shall go unpunished”?

FROM THE AMERICAN BANKER: Harbingers of Crisis Now Calling for Subprime Revival

WASHINGTON — Two housing advocates who raised some of the earliest warnings in 2005 about the impending housing crisis are calling for a return to subprime lending.

Bob Gnaizda and John Hope Bryant realize it's a bit of a head-scratcher. Nevertheless, they are making the rounds in Washington and on Wall Street to promote their prototype for a responsible, alternative mortgage for less-than-prime borrowers.

"Talking about 'subprime' today is like talking about the devil," Bryant, the chief executive of Operation HOPE who serves on the president's advisory council on financial capability, said in an interview. "Nobody wants to use the word subprime, but frankly, we think that's the future."

Bryant and Gnaizda, the general counsel for the Black Economic Council, the Latino Business Chamber of Greater Los Angeles and the National Asian American Coalition, say the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction in the wake of the subprime crisis. Enhanced regulatory scrutiny has made lenders reluctant to offer loans to borrowers without pristine credit histories and hefty down-payments. That has had the unintended effect of redlining low- and moderate-income — and often black and Hispanic — borrowers.

Borrowers with lower incomes and those receiving smaller loans were more likely to receive higher-priced loans in 2011, according to a Federal Reserve analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. Black and Hispanic borrowers also faced notably higher denial rates than Asian or white borrowers, the data showed.

Gnaizda and Bryant are proposing what they call the Dignity Mortgage, a loan that could be made to non-prime borrowers with built-in protections and incentives for both borrowers and lenders.

Subcommittee Receives New Commitment for Local Financial Literacy Council

As a result of the leadership of Maryland State Comptroller Peter Franchot, I am pleased to announce that the City of Forests Heights, Maryland is the latest American city to sign on President Barack Obama's initiative to create Local Financial Literacy Councils. 

Maryland Comptroller Franchot recently hosted a Maryland State Town Hall for the US President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability, Subcommittee on the Underserved and Community Empowerment, along with Council Chairman John Rogers who was gracious enough to attend the community session. 

I and we, along with the partnership subcommittee, are currently working with over 100 newly created local councils, includings ones such as the District of Columbia Council which is fully operational, to send federal financial capability information out to the American public. Likewise, our subcommittee is working on recommendations on how President Obama and Secretary Geithner can support local municipality efforts to reach, and help, more Americans around financial capability.  These two goals line up perfectly.

More to come, but commendations to Comptroller Franchot, the National Conference of Black Mayors, and the mayor of Forest Heights.

John Hope Bryant is a thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE and Bryant Group Companies, Inc. Magazine/CEO READ bestselling business author of LOVE LEADERSHIP: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World (Jossey-Bass), the only African-American bestselling business author in America, and is chairman of the Subcommittee for the Under-Served and Community Empowerment for the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, for President Barack Obama.  Mr. Bryant is the co-founder of the Gallup-HOPE Index, the only national research poll on youth financial dignity and youth economic energy in the U.S. He is also a co-founder of Global Dignity with HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Professor Pekka Himanen of Finland. Global Dignity is affiliated with the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the World Economic Forum.   Mr. Bryant serves on the board of directors of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, an NYSE Euronext publicly traded company, and a division of $54 billion Ares Capital.