How bank closings impact the poor

A New York Times article this week sheds light on how closing brick and mortar bank locations hurts the neighborhoods they leave behind. According to the article,

In 2010, for the first time in 15 years, more bank branches closed than opened across the United States. An analysis of government data shows, however, that even as banks shut branches in poorer areas, they continued to expand in wealthier ones, despite decades of government regulations requiring financial institutions to meet the credit needs of poor and middle-class neighborhoods.

The gap in financial services is then sometimes filled by check cashers and predatory lenders. For folks who have internet access and understand online banking, there's little impact. For small businesses and the people who rely on the security of a local bank, it's more than an inconvenience.