Why LGBTQ Banks and Investments Keep Failing

What individuals with financial means can do to support LGBTQ+ banks

Find out why LGBTQ banks and investments keep failing on this episode. Then download your FREE Queer Money Kickstarter, a 9-step Guide to Kickstart Your Journey to Financial Independence.

How LGBTQ+ focused investments and banks provide value to the community

According to an HRC analysis of government data, an estimated 20 million American adults identify as LGBTQ+. And 2021 census data suggests that the queer community has $1.4 trillion in spending power. But it’s unlikely that you’ve heard of the PRID ETF, LGBT ETF or EQLT ETF. Or banked with Equality Credit Union, Daylight Bank, or Superbia Credit Union. In fact, all the aforementioned LGBTQ+ financial products and institutions were unsuccessful. So, given our potential influence as a community, why do LGBTQ+ focused banks and investments keep failing?

Spencer Watson is the Executive Director of the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research, or CLEAR, an organization that uncovers the unique financial needs of the LGBTQ+ community and elevates those concerns to decision-makers in government and the financial services industry. Spencer is a graduate of Berkeley Law, where they studied consumer financial protection, lending discrimination, and civil rights.

On this episode of Queer Money®, Spencer joins us to discuss the value of LGBTQ+ banks and credit unions, describing how such financial institutions might develop products specifically tailored to the queer community. Spencer offers insight into the skepticism around whether LGBTQ+ ETFs are really better for our community and addresses how the gay wage gap contributes to the failure of LGBTQ+ investments.

Listen in to understand the challenges LGBTQ+ banks, credit unions, and investments face in building a sustainable business and learn what those of us with means can do to support LGBTQ+ financial products and institutions.

Listen to get insight on LGBTQ banks and investments

Topics covered on LGBTQ banks and investments

How LGBTQ+ focused investments and banking institutions provide value to the community
The disconnect between the $1.4T in LGBTQ+ purchasing power and the failure of so many LGBTQ+ financial products and institutions
What kept Superbia and Equality Credit Union from meeting the benchmarks necessary to stay open
Why LGBTQ+ financial institutions offered a limited number of services
Developing superior financial products that serve the queer community, i.e., family planning services, transition funds, and loans for LGBTQ-owned businesses
Why Spencer believes there’s an appetite for LGBTQ+ banks and credit unions
Balancing a mission to serve the LGBTQ+ community with the need to build a sustainable business
Why there’s skepticism around whether LGBTQ+ ETFs are really better for the community
The role misguided or insufficient marketing played in the failure of LGBTQ+ financial institutions
How the wage gap among LGBTQ+ workers and the lack of family support for queer young people contribute to the failure of LGBTQ+ banks and investments
What queer individuals with financial means can do to support LGBTQ+ financial institutions
How Spencer thinks about charging the most vulnerable and financially excluded members of our community for financial services
Why we must participate in the capitalist system in order to change it
How CLEAR focuses on understanding the unique financial needs of the LGBTQ+ community and elevating those concerns to decision-makers in government and the financial services industry
Spencer’s work to build a credit union that serves the LGBTQ+ and formerly incarcerated communities

Connect with Spencer

CLEAR

Resources on LGBTQ banks and investments

Motley Fool|Debt Free Guys LGBTQ Money Study
Iowa State Study on Lending Practices to Same-Sex Borrowers on PNAS.org
The LGBTQI+ Economic and Financial Survey on Economics.org
Prudential LGBT Financial Experience Report on Prudential.com
HRC Corporate Equality Index on hrc.org
John Roberts on Queer Money EP109
HRC Report on the Wage Gap Among LGBTQ+ Workers in the US on hrc.org
Ellevest.com
The Economic Case for LGBT Equality by M.V. Lee Badgett
Hadassah Damien on Queer Money EP328
Acorns.com
FirstStepAlliance.org
CreditWise

Connect with David and John

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We’re David and John Auten-Schneider, the Debt Free Guys (www.debtfreeguys.com), and the Queer Money® podcast hosts. We help queer people (and allies) live fabulously, not fabulously broke, by helping them 1) pay off credit card debt, 2) become part- or full-time entrepreneurs and 3) save and invest for retirement.