Fulton Bank Evolves to Better Serve Diverse Business Customers

BY JOEL BARNETT

THERE’S AN INEQUITY in small business and commercial banking that needs to be fixed and Fulton Bank is out to do just that. Diverse businesses often lack access to capital and other banking services needed to grow their businesses.

In fact, the 2021 Small Business Credit Survey found that Black-owned organizations that applied for traditional financing were the least likely to receive financing. In total, 40 percent of white-owned firms, 31 percent of Asian-owned firms, 20 percent of Hispanic-owned, and only 13 percent of Black-owned firms received all of the financing they sought. The trend existed even among organizations with strong credit scores.

According to a Minority Business Development Agency report, minority-owned businesses are also less likely to receive loans than non-minority firms; the loan amounts received are lower; they are more likely to be denied loans; and are more likely to not apply for loans due to rejection fears. Further, when capital is received, minority-owned businesses pay higher interest rates on business loans than their non-minority peers. Capital access remains the most important limiting factor for the establishment and expansion of minority-owned businesses.

“There’s a significant disparity across the financial industry when it comes to serving and supporting minority-owned businesses,” said Wm. “Smokey” Glover, executive vice president, director of fair and responsible banking at Fulton Bank. “That problem was underscored during the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan process during the pandemic, and now it’s time for us to work together in solving this problem with the capital and opportunities these businesses need to succeed.”

The Solution

Fulton Bank created a new director-level position within its ranks centered on building relationships with businesses owned by people of color, women, and veterans.

“This new role is focused on ensuring that we are reaching out to and meeting the needs of affinity businesses in our communities. By assigning enterprise-wide responsibility for building these relationships to one person, we can ensure a concerted effort on this outreach,” said Glover.

A few months ago, I joined Fulton Bank as the director of commercial affinity banking. In this new role, which is based in Philadelphia, I plan to draw on my more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry. Prior to joining the Fulton team, I served most recently as the senior vice president and business banking market executive at a Pittsburgh-based bank.

I have been working with my colleagues at Fulton to create a task force of several working groups dedicated to increasing access to capital, as well as enhancing deposit and payment services aimed at optimizing cash flow for affinity banking groups. In addition, we assembled a separate team to work on new ways to improve proactive outreach to these groups to ensure they are aware of our products, services, and programs.

Central to its purpose of changing lives for the better, Fulton is committed to creating opportunities for diverse and minority-owned businesses that will position them for growth and success in the years ahead.

Joel Barnett is the director of commercial affinity banking at Fulton Bank.