Banks Turn Kinder Eye toward Minority Businesses ; Mergers - and New Laws - Lead Banks to Focus More Money on Inner Cities, with Loans for Everything from Housing to Day-Care Centers

Ron Scherer, writer of The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor

Only a year ago, crack-cocaine users were climbing the stairs at the elegant old brownstone on Bainbridge Street in Brooklyn.

But now Pam Flaherty, a senior officer at Citigroup, is admiring the African-inspired furniture and parquet floors.

"Isn't it beautiful," she enthuses. "It's hard to believe it wasn't that long ago that this place was infested with cockroaches," says Ms. Flaherty, whose bank made the loan that helped revitalize the building whose renovated rooms are being turned into affordable housing for families.

A few years ago, it would have been unusual to see pinstriped bankers making housing loans in places that once had a …

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Publication information: Article title: Banks Turn Kinder Eye toward Minority Businesses ; Mergers - and New Laws - Lead Banks to Focus More Money on Inner Cities, with Loans for Everything from Housing to Day-Care Centers. Contributors: Ron Scherer, writer of The Christian Science Monitor - Author. Newspaper title: The Christian Science Monitor. Publication date: March 13, 2000. Page number: 3. © 2009 The Christian Science Publishing Society. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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