Abstract
The 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances was used to determine holdings of selected financial products by low-to-moderate income households, defined as households with incomes less than or equal to 80% of median household income for their region. First, we estimated determinants of holding bank accounts. Next, we estimated determinants of holding other selected products, contingent on holding a transaction account. Finally, we estimated the potential demand for these other products by households without accounts, should they become account holders. We found that if non-account holding households were to obtain accounts, they would increase their demand for credit cards, first mortgages, car loans, consumer loans, certificates of deposit, and IRA/Keogh accounts. The implications for financial institutions, policy makers, and consumer educators are presented.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
American Bankers Association (1998). 1998 Retail banking survey report. Washington, DC: American Bankers Association.
Avery, R. A., Bostic, R. W., Calem, P. S., & Canner, G. B. (1997). Changes in the distribution of banking offices. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 83, 707–725.
Avery, R. A., Bostic, R. W., Calem, P. S., & Canner, G. B. (1999). Trends in home purchase lending: consolidation and the community reinvestment act. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 85, 81–102.
Black, S. E., & Morgan, D. P. (1998). Risk and the democratization of credit cards. New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Working Paper (June).
Canedy, D. (1998). Down payments on a dream: A new approach to helping the poor save for education, housing, or small-business ventures. Ford Foundation Report (Winter).
Caskey, J. P. (1994). Fringe banking: Check-cashing outlets, pawnshops, and the poor. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Caskey, J. P. (1997a). Beyond cash-and-carry: Financial savings, financial services, and low income households in two communities. Washington, DC: Consumer Federation of America.
Caskey, J. P. (1997b). Lower income Americans, higher cost financial services. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Business, Filene Research Institute, Center for Credit Union Research.
Center for Social Development (1999). State IDA policy profiles. Retrieved August 9, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.gwbweb.wustl.edu/users/csd/ida/stateIDAprofiles.html.
Consumer Bankers Association (1998). 1998 CBA basic banking survey. Arlington, VA: Consumer Bankers Association.
Consumer Federation of America (1997). The high cost of “banking” at the corner check casher: Check cashing outlet fees and payday loans. Washington, DC: Consumer Federation of America.
Doyle, J. J., Lopez, J. A., & Saidenberg, M. A. (1998). How effective is lifeline making in assisting the “unbanked”? Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Current Issues in Economics and Finance, 4(6), 1–6.
Federal Reserve Board (1997). Transcript of public hearings on Truth in Lending's Home Equity Lending and Finance Charge. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve Board (June 17).
Federal Reserve Board (1999). Fees and services of depository institutions-June 1999. Retrieved July 21, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.federalreserve. gov/boarddocs/RptCongress/1999fees.pdf.
Financial Services Education Coalition (1998). Helping people in your community understand basic financial services. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service.
Fontana, D. (1997). Need seen to teach the poor about high-tech banking. American Banker, March 17.
Friedman, R. E., & Broadman, D. (1998). IDAs... what are they? Community Investments (Winter). Washington, DC: Corporation for Enterprise Development.
Garman, T. E., & Forgue, R. E. (2000). Personal finance. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Green, M., & Leichter, F. S. (1998). Ranking banking: The consumer bank scorecard. New York: Office of the Public Advocate for the City of New York.
Greene, W. H. (1997). Econometric analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Hogarth and Kevin H. O'Donnell Hogarth, J. M., & O'Donnell, K. H. (1997). Being accountable: A descriptive study of unbanked households in the U.S. Proceedings of Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, pp. 58–67.
Hogarth, J. M., & O'Donnell, K. H. (1999). Banking relationships of lower-income families and the governmental trend toward electronic payment. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 85, 459–473.
Holland, K. (1994). The poor need access to digital banking too. Business Week, 3400 (November 21), p. 112.
Hurst, E., Luoh, M. C., & Stafford, F. (1998). The wealth dynamics of American families, 1984-1994. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1, 267–338.
Kennickell, A. B. (1997). Analysis of nonresponse effects in the 1995 Survey of Consumer Finances. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve Board. Working Paper on Survey Methodology of Survey of Consumer Finances.
Kennickell, A. B., McManus, D. A., & Woodburn, R. L. (1996). Weighting design for the 1992 Survey of Consumer Finances. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve Board. Working Paper on Survey Methodology of Survey of Consumer Finances.
Kennickell, A. B., Starr-McCluer, M., & Sunden, A. E. (1997). Family finances in the U.S.: Recent evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 83, 1–24.
Kennickell, A. B., Starr-McCluer, M., & Surette, B. (2000). Recent changes in U.S. family finances: Results from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 86, 1–29.
Kennickell, A. B., & Woodburn, R. L. (1997). Consistent weight design for the 1989, 1992, and 1995 SCFs, and the distribution of wealth. Washington, DC: Federal Reserve Board. Working Paper on Survey Methodology of Survey of Consumer Finances.
Lewis, J. K. (1994). Financial resources, assets, and savings behavior of low-income families from different regions. Proceedings of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning, pp. 108–120.
Lewis, J. K., Swagler, R., & Burton, J. R. (1996). Low-income consumers' use of the alternative financial sector. Proceedings of the American Council on Consumer Interests, 42, 271–274.
Leyser, B. (1998). Recipient concerns with the use of electronic benefit transfer systems for the delivery of state and federal benefits. National Poverty Law Center Clearinghouse Review, 32, 216–251.
Maddala, G. S. (1983). Limited-dependent and qualitative variables in econometrics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Marlowe, J., Godwin, D., & Maddux, E. (1996). Barriers to effective financial management among welfare recipients. Advancing the Consumer Interest, 8 (Fall), 9–13.
Meyer, C., & Shelton, T. (1996). Buried treasure: A survey of New York City banks shows “lifeline law” to be best-kept consumer secret in New York. New York: New York Public Interest Research Group.
Montalto, C. P., & Sung, J. (1996). Multiple imputation in the 1992 Survey of Consumer Finances. Financial Counseling and Planning, 7, 133–146.
National Consumer Law Center (1999). Comments to the Treasury on ANPRM 31 CFR Chapter II: Possible regulation regarding access to accounts at financial institutions through payment service providers. Washington, DC: National Consumer Law Center.
Oppel, R. A. (1999). The stepchildren of banking: Efforts to serve low-income areas appear to sputter. The New York Times, March 26, Sec. C, p. 1.
Organization for New Equality (1998). Cash, credit & EFT 99: reducing the cost of credit and capital for the urban poor. Boston, MA: Organization for a New Equality.
Prescott, E. S., & Tatar, D. D. (1999) Means of payment, the unbanked, and EFT '99. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Economic Quarterly (Fall)
Rubin, D. B. (1987). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. New York: Wiley.
Sherraden, M. (1991). Assets and the poor: A new American welfare policy. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Shields, J. (1996). The impact of rising bank fees on the use of alternative financial services. Proceedings of American Council on Consumer Interests, 42, 275–278.
Stegman, M. A. (1999). Savings for the poor: The hidden benefits of electronic banking. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Summers, L. H. (2000) Helping Americans to save more. Remarks at the Choose to Save forum, Washington, DC, April 4, 2000. Retrieved April 10, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/ps524.htm.
Swanson, J. A., Hogarth, J. M., & Segelken, J. B. (1993). Voices of experience: Limited resource families and financial management. Proceedings of the Family Economics and Management Conference (American Home Economics Association Meetings), pp. 13–28.
U.S. Department of the Treasury (1997). Mandatory EFT demographic study. OMB 15100-00-68. Washington, DC: Financial Management Service.
U.S. Department of the Treasury (1999). Electronic transfer account notice. Retrieved July 19, 1999 from the World Wide Web: http://www.fms.treas.gov/fedreg/eta.pdf.
VanAuken, C. (1999). Bank One gets 250 accounts in program for poor people. American Banker Notes, 164(143), 2.
Yoo, P. S. (1998). Still charging: The growth of credit card debt between 1992 and 1995. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, January/February, pp. 19–27.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hogarth, J.M., O'Donnell, K.H. If You Build It, Will They Come? A Simulation of Financial Product Holdings Among Low-to-Moderate Income Households. Journal of Consumer Policy 23, 409–444 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007222700931
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007222700931