America’s Largest Black-Owned Bank

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek – "America’s Largest Black-Owned Bank"

Date: October 16, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec
Guest: Terry Williams, President & COO of OneUnited Bank

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Episode Overview

This episode offers an in-depth conversation with Terry Williams, President and COO of OneUnited Bank—the largest Black-owned bank in America. The discussion centers on the bank’s mission to build wealth in low- to moderate-income communities, innovative fintech efforts (especially with AI), strategies for serving the underbanked, and the real economic challenges facing American families. Special focus is paid to new digital solutions, partnerships with major tech firms, and the importance of financial literacy in driving economic empowerment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. OneUnited Bank’s Mission & Digital Reach

• CDFI Focus: As a Community Development Financial Institution, OneUnited targets wealth-building in low to moderate-income communities.
• Digital Pioneers:
  • 90% of customers interact online.
  • Over 20 years as a digital bank.
  • Branches in Boston, LA, and Miami.
  • Nearly $1 billion in loans, primarily in underserved areas.
• Quote:

  "We're about to introduce a really exciting product. It's called Wise One, and it's a conversational virtual agent that will help people manage their money. ... In this new evolution of technology, you need partners. And so we've really been thrilled to have Google really help us through this and using Gemini as the tool."
  — Terry Williams [02:36]

2. Innovations in Financial Technology

• Wise One (Upcoming AI Tool):
  • A conversational virtual agent powered by Google Gemini, Salesforce, JP Morgan, and Citi.
  • Designed to offer actionable financial insights and assist with money management.
• Educational Focus:
  • Financial literacy is embedded in the bank’s tools.
  • AI-driven advice gives "GPS for your money."
• Quote:

  "If you give people actionable insights and things that they can do—'Hey, here’s a budget. Here’s a budget tool.'—people really respond to that."
  — Terry Williams [03:44]

3. Serving the Unbanked and Underbanked

• Second Chance Accounts:
  • "YouTube Checking" lets people with negative banking history open accounts.
• Cash Please:
  • Small-dollar, short-term loans ($1,000 max) with no credit check.
  • APR is 22.5%—framed as a much more accessible option versus payday lenders (which often charge 300-400%).
  • Loans designed not to be “rolled over,” encouraging positive credit behaviors.
  • Positive repayment reported to credit bureaus.
• Quote:

  "For if you have a bad credit score, you can't get a loan or unless you go to a payday lender and pay 3 or 400%. … Our 22.5% with no credit check is actually a great rate."
  — Terry Williams [06:19]

4. Economic Challenges on Main Street

• Sharp Contrast with Wall Street:
  • Hosts note strong earnings at big banks.
  • OneUnited sees economic strain for regular families—declining savings and increased financial need.
• Essay Contest Insights:
  • Teens use AI to write essays but the substance is revealing—kids express concern for helping their families with basics like groceries.
• Quote:

  "This is the first time...children are talking about pocketbook issues. They want to win so they can help their family buy groceries…we can definitely feel that the economy…is not [rosy]."
  — Terry Williams [07:29]

5. Community Support & Partnerships

• Support from Corporations & Wealthy Individuals:
  • Significant deposits from major corporations and donors who value the bank’s community mission.
  • Corporate partnerships (e.g., Google aiding AI development).
• Quote:

  "I can't tell you how many...corporations, wealthy individuals that have deposits in the bank that really understand what we do, why we do it...they may not do it, but they really support how we’re doing it."
  — Terry Williams [08:58]

6. Lending Focus & Geographic Reach

• Primary Lending:
  • Affordable multifamily housing.
  • "Cash Please" loans.
  • Secured credit cards to build credit.
  • Homeownership assistance.
• Footprint:
  • Strong in Boston, Miami, and LA—especially in under-resourced neighborhoods (e.g., Compton, Crenshaw).
  • Geographic expansion handled conservatively but open to opportunities.
• Quote:

  "We're really a fintech that's also a community bank...You have the benefit of the regulatory environment, as well as banking online."
  — Terry Williams [11:14]

7. Regulatory Landscape & Policy Wish List

• AI Regulation:
  • Williams praises current regulatory approach as open-minded and flexible for innovation.
• Quote:

  "We're introducing this tool and the regulators are not saying no. ... I can't tell you how huge that is. I've been in banking for 30 years and we're not getting no for like, you know, one of the first times."
  — Terry Williams [12:20]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI as Financial GPS:

  "The AI tool will be a GPS for your money."
  — Terry Williams [05:00 approx.]

• On payday loans vs. Cash Please:

  "If you go to a payday lender, [interest] is 3 or 400%. ... Our rate is 22 and a half percent with no credit check."
  — Terry Williams [06:14]

• On corporate deposits serving mission:

  "They’re depositing at your bank ... as a sign of support as well as it gives us dollars to lend to the community."
  — Carol Massar & Terry Williams [09:30]

• On regulatory optimism:

  "I've been in banking for 30 years and we're not getting no for like, you know, one of the first times."
  — Terry Williams [12:36]

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Important Timestamps

• 01:42: Show begins, introduces Terry Williams and OneUnited Bank
• 02:22: Williams describes bank’s digital approach, Wise One tool
• 03:44: The importance of actionable financial literacy
• 04:47: Outreach to and solutions for unbanked/underbanked
• 06:05: "Cash Please" and small-dollar lending
• 07:29: Real-world signs of economic strain through essay contest for youth
• 08:58: Who supports OneUnited Bank and why
• 10:20: Lending priorities and community focus
• 11:14: Market footprint and approach to expansion
• 12:20: Regulatory environment and policy outlook

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Conclusion & Takeaway

This episode highlights the deep-seated economic needs in America’s most vulnerable communities and innovative ways Black-owned banks like OneUnited are closing the wealth gap through digital finance, partnerships, and AI-powered tools. Terry Williams demonstrates not only pride in the bank’s mission but also realism about the challenges ahead—and the vital role of education, technology, and community in creating lasting change.

Transcript

[Terry Williams]

When we go into a new region, networks matter. Experience matters. For an inside look at the global.

[Carol Massar]

Connections that help businesses succeed, search for.

[Terry Williams]

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[Carol Massar]

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Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stenbec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Tim Stenovec]

We've been talking a lot about bank earnings. Morgan Stanley reporting beating Wall street estimates ending the day up about 4.5%. Bank of America, second largest bank, reporting earnings as well, ending the day up about as much. And as you mentioned, Carol, a good moment to look at smaller banks as well. Of course, some regional banks are going to be reporting here in the coming days, but Terry Williams joins us now in studio here in New York, President and chief operating officer of One United bank. That's a black owned bank, digital and traditional, with branches in Boston, Los Angeles and Miami. Almost $1 billion in loans, most in low to moderate income communities. Joins us here in the studio. Great to have you with us.

[Terry Williams]

Great to be here.

[Tim Stenovec]

And for those unfamiliar with the bank, tell us a bit about it, who you serve and how you've grown here in recent years.

[Terry Williams]

Yeah, sure. First of all, we're a cdfi, a community development financial institution, and our focus is on building wealth in low to moderate income communities. But we're also a digital bank. So 90% of our customers come to us online.

[Tim Stenovec]

Not in person.

[Terry Williams]

No, not in person. Not in person. And we've been a digital bank for 20 years. So we really have been a long time in this space. And we're about to introduce a really exciting product. It's called Wise One, and it's a conversational virtual agent that will help people manage their money. And we're doing this in partnership with Google Salesforce as well as JP Morgan and Citi. I would say in this new evolution of technology, you need partners. And so we've really been thrilled to have Google really help us through this and using Gemini as the tool.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah, that is certainly their AI tool. And kind of what, you know, you've got ChatGPT, OpenAI, you've got Google got their version. One thing I want to ask you about, Terry, though, when it comes to, I feel like the financial community, all communities, like education is such a big part, and especially in, I think, areas where there are individuals that are unbanked or underbanked. So tell us about how that plays into. Because I get a little nervous when we start, like, going online and figuring out things. Is there an educational component to all of this?

[Terry Williams]

Absolutely. In fact, it is the educational component that's really what we're about. So the tool actually teaches you financial literacy by giving you actionable insights about what you can do with your money. And if you say to people, oh, go take this course on money management, you know, two people will sign up. But on the other hand, if you say, hey, you could move some money from spending to checking, or, hey, I noticed that, you know, your mortgage rate is a little high, or, hey, that, I mean, if you give people actionable insights and things that they can do, hey, here's a budget. Here's a budget tool. People really respond to that. We've had a money management tool actually for a couple of years, and our customers love it. What we're adding to it with Google AI is really the conversational agent piece which is going to take us over the top.

[Tim Stenovec]

Carol mentioned the unbanked and the underbanked, and I'm curious, sort of how you found outreach to those communities and what success you've had convincing folks that they should open up a bank account, that it's important to have one, and indeed helping them go through that process.

[Terry Williams]

Yeah. So our focus is really to talk about every spectrum and so on. The underbanked, I'll call them people that have check systems, records that aren't able to open up a bank account. We have something called a second chance checking account. It's called YouTube checking, and it allows people that and actually a pretty large percentage of Americans have check systems records. And in fact if you don't have one, you probably don't even know what that is.

[Carol Massar]

I don't even know that we have one. I just assume that somewhere somebody has tons of information.

[Terry Williams]

Yeah, yeah.

[Carol Massar]

Credit cards, right.

[Terry Williams]

You hear about FICO scores and credit scores, but it's actually a score for your use of bank account. And if someone has a check systems record, they're not able to go into a bank and open up an account, but we give them a second chance. So that's an example of where we're really bringing people in. We also have this wonderful service called Cash Please where people can get a small short term dollar loan up to $1,000 with no credit check. Again, it's a way of us serving the low to moderate income, underbanked community. At the same time, on the other spectrum, everybody needs a budget, everybody needs to know how to manage their money. And to be a GPS for your money is what you remember when we used to use maps? Yes. So the AI tool will be a GPS for your money. So everybody needs that.

[Carol Massar]

When you give like a thousand dollar loan for someone that you know may not be able to get it elsewhere, what's the interest rate on something like that? What's the payment?

[Terry Williams]

Yeah, that's the great question. So if you go to a payday lender is 3 or 400%.

[Carol Massar]

That's crazy.

[Tim Stenovec]

Wow.

[Terry Williams]

Our rate is 22 and a half percent.

[Carol Massar]

That's still crazy. I'm sorry, like I have a real hard thing, full disclosure, so box time. But I mean the rates for even people with good credit score, like it's just crazy.

[Terry Williams]

Right. But for if you have a bad credit score, you can't get a loan or unless you go to a payday lender and pay 3 or 400%. Yeah. Our 22.5% with no credit check is actually a great rate. And I will say how long people pay us back? Yeah, how do you pay for that? Yes, a short term loan, it's three months and they pay us back and we won't allow them to roll it over. So that's the other thing. And we also report to the credit bureaus. So you know, with payday loans they only report if you don't pay with our Cash Please, we actually report positive payment. And I think that is another reason that people use it, pay it back and improve their credit score.

[Tim Stenovec]

As I mentioned, been following these big banks that have been reporting and we hear from their chief executives just about how they're thinking about the economy and the trends that they're seeing. I'm very curious, sort of if that. If that vantage is different, the one that you have is different and what you're thinking about, the direction of this economy, the level of uncertainty that we're seeing, how that's playing out in the communities that you serve.

[Terry Williams]

Yeah. So we definitely are seeing a drawdown in savings. We are definitely seeing. We have actually a financial literacy essay contest for kids. And this year, there's two things we saw. One is that the kids are using AI to write their essays, and the other is that they're talking about, you know, pocketbook issues. They want to win so that they can help their family buy groceries. And that's the. This is the first. We've had this contest for 15 years. This is the first time that that kind of feedback from children is coming out. So we can definitely feel that the economy, you know, is not.

[Tim Stenovec]

There's a strain.

[Terry Williams]

Yeah, it's a strain. There's a strain at the same time. And again, I don't want to keep going on about wise one, but people want a budgeting tool. They recognize that they need guardrails, they need information. They need more than just, what's my balance? You know, they want to know, how can I improve my spending? How can I improve my credit score? And that's where we come in.

[Carol Massar]

No, I love that, but it really disheartens me to like, I feel like this is something we've been talking a lot about, Main street versus Wall Street. I mean, here we have, you know, records on Wall street or, you know, there's certainly big pockets of this economy that have done very well and have gotten wealthier. And then there's just so many that have not. Tell us a little bit more about your clientele and who is your customer and what, you know, we need to understand about different pockets of the US Population.

[Terry Williams]

So what I will say is that there are a lot of wealthy people, as well as corporations that really support what we do. I mean, I can't tell you how many, like, a lot of corporations, a lot of wealthy individuals that have deposits in the bank that really understand what we do, why we do it. They may not do it, but they really support how we're doing it. And we're maniacal about doing it. So they're like, great. You know, we can't turn our big ship to focus on every community, but we love the fact that you are doing.

[Carol Massar]

So they're depositing at your bank.

[Terry Williams]

Yes, yes, as a sign of support or yes as a sign of support as well as it gives us dollars to lend to the community. And because we've had like almost zero losses, they're. They're supporting us. So. And I would even say even that, you know, Google as an example, they didn't have to step in and help us, you know, develop this tool, but they saw that this is a way to use AI for good. You know, you hear a lot of crazy stuff about it. We're really trying to get our community to embrace it, not be afraid of it, to realize that there is a good use of it. I mean, you remember when we were afraid of online and mobile banking, people were afraid.

[Carol Massar]

I'm still afraid. Yeah, I'm probably more afraid today than I was when I started, just to be fair. No, but I just think, you know, it's interesting, all the stuff that's going on digital. So is most of your business deposits? Is it like, give us an idea what you're.

[Terry Williams]

First of all, As I said, 90% of our customers come to us online.

[Carol Massar]

Right.

[Terry Williams]

Even the corporations, they're located all across the world and they come to us and deposit. We focus our lending is on supporting affordable homes, so multifamily affordable housings where the rent is below the average for the communities that we're in. Again, cash please is a big one. We've done thousands of cash please loans. We also have a secured credit card again to help people rebuild their credit. That's the lending tools. We also focus on homeownership.

[Tim Stenovec]

I wanted to ask you about the other 10% then of your customer base. So you do have some geographic footprint and as you think about expansion or where you want to be, how do you think that through? Are you happy in the cities that you're in or where else would you see opportunity and kind of, if you're not going to name names, what are the kinds of places where you would want to have a footprint?

[Terry Williams]

We love the cities we're in. We, you know, what's happening in Boston and Miami and the tech world is just amazing. And we're really a fintech that's also a community bank. And that's the other great thing about us, is when you put your money with us, you have the benefit of the regulatory, you know, environment and all that that comes with, as well as the fact that you can bank with us online. So we're really excited about what's happening, particularly in Miami these days, as well as what's been going on. Our IT team is in Boston and we love it. And then LA is just such a huge market. It really is. And we're in Compton. I mean, we're down in South Central on Crenshaw Boulevard. So we really like the communities we're in. We're always looking for other opportunities. And really, I would have to do a shout out to all black banks. We're located in major cities and we really do serve the communities.

[Carol Massar]

One last question. 30 seconds. Is there anything that you would like to see in terms of policy changes that would help what you are doing?

[Terry Williams]

That's a good question. Well, I do like what we're seeing on AI, that there is flexibility. We're introducing this tool and the regulators are not saying no.

[Carol Massar]

Okay.

[Terry Williams]

No, I mean, that's huge. I mean, I can't tell you how huge that is. I've been in banking for 30 years and we're not getting no for like, you know, one of the first times.

[Carol Massar]

Not yet.

[Joe Matthew]

No.

[Carol Massar]

I'm just kidding. I'm gonna think positive.

[Terry Williams]

You.

[Carol Massar]

Terry, thank you so much.

[Terry Williams]

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me.

[Carol Massar]

Terry Williams, President, Chief Operating Officer of One United bank, joining us here in studio.

[Joe Matthew]

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