Attached are the answers to your questions. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can clarify anything for you. When do you expect the story to run? Do you mind sending me a link or hard copy of the article when it does? Best regards, Janet
Paporeto Interview (Brazilian Newspaper/Radio)
1) What was the motivation to create a bank specialized in granting loans to young people?
After cable entrepreneur Bill Daniels read an article about a group of youth who were unable to obtain a loan at a traditional bank, he established Young Americans Bank in 1987 specifically to serve youth. In addition to loans, we offer savings accounts, checking accounts, debit cards, credit cards, and CDs to youth, ages birth to 21 years old. The Bank’s educational mission, to provide hands-on experience in finance to youth, inspired the non-profit Young Americans Center for Financial Education that provides programming in financial education to over 50,000 youth every year.
2) One of the great goals for the American Way of Life is to make the first million the sooner the better. Do you think that this kind of wealthy education help to pave way to that road?
At Young Americans Bank, our goal isn’t for youth to make a million dollars, but rather to help youth learn how to be responsible with money. By providing an opportunity for young people to open a real bank account, to use a credit card, and to receive and pay back a loan, they become knowledgeable participants in our economic system. The hope is that these experiences help them grow up to be financially-wise adults. They keep their money in a bank, they know the difference between a debit and credit card, they know how to responsibly use a credit card, and they know that taking out a loan means they need to pay the money back. So yes, we think this type of experience “paves the road” for youth to become successful adults.
3) Is there any concern about the sustainability of the process considering that the institutions deal with kids and youths?
Young Americans Bank is very unique in that it is not a profitable institution. Rather, it is an institution with an educational mission to teach youth about the financial industry. The Bank exists due to the ingenuity of its founder, Bill Daniels, who provided the financial endowment to allow the Bank to run at a loss for the foreseeable future.
4) How to teach the importance of the spiritual values even we deal with the money/business arena?
The Bank and accompanying non-profit exist due to the generosity of Bill Daniels and other community supporters. As a result, an essential aspect of our programs is teaching youth about philanthropy—how they can use their time, talent, and treasure to improve their community. For example, students in our Young AmeriTowne program have an opportunity to donate to six Denver-area charities during their visit to Young AmeriTowne.
5) Have ever the bank thought about the possibility to open branches across the USA and abroad?
Could the South America counties, such as Brazil, become a market to be achieved by the Young American Bank? Young Americans Bank has two current locations: one in central Denver and one on the northeast side of the city. We are looking at the possibility of opening a third Bank branch on the western side of Denver in 2017. We are not currently planning on expanding the Bank beyond Colorado or the U.S., but we are looking at expanding programs at the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, a non-profit that shares the same educational mission as the Bank, beyond Colorado.
6) Who is the main target for the bank as a customer?
Most of the Bank customers are youth between 6 and 12 years old.
7) Behind of those kids in the photo in this link (https://yacenter.org/youthbiz/) there is a photo of Cristo Redentor, the most recognized Rio de Janeiro´s monument. Is there any relation between the programs in Denver and the city of Rio?
The photo in the link is from the “International Towne” program of Young Americans Center for Financial Education. International Towne provides an opportunity for 12-13 year-olds to learn about global economics in a fun, hands-on way. Students learn about currency exchange, tariffs, trade, credit cards, diplomacy, and international business norms in a 6-8 week curriculum, and then they come to our facility to run the “world” of 16 different countries, including Brazil.
8) When we think about bank the first idea that came to our mind id about interest rate, collateral guarantees, prime rate, saving accounts e.g. Do the bank has any strategy to make the kids aware of this market?
As a bank for youth, it is important to Young Americans Bank to introduce young people to much of this vocabulary by allowing them to experience these concepts first-hand. For example, they can earn interest on their savings account or they have to pay interest when they take out loans. This helps youth learn what interest really is!
9) Let´s talk about the numbers related to the bank: a) How many loans contract the bank has on its portfolio?
Right now, we have 16 loans on the books (as of 10-6-16) b) What is the average of money involved in which contract?
Currently the average loan amount is $3,036
c) What kind of guarantees are demanded for the borrows?
Every loan customer must sign a promise to pay. In some cases they provide collateral such as a pet dog!
10) Examining the bank history we can say that Mr. Bill Daniels was a visionary. What are the improvements made in the bank philosophy and the way to conduct business, since the very beginning, in 1987?
Even though our mission has stayed the same since 1987, Young Americans Bank has made many improvements since then. It was important to Bill Daniels that the Bank remains current—that it offers the same services as adult banks. We have adopted many of the same technological advances have been made in the adult banking industry in recent years, such as peer-to-peer payments via mobile phone and online banking services.
10) Last but not least, does any bank´s client become a millionaire?
After young people turn 21, they are no longer able to hold an account at Young Americans Bank. We require them to take their banking to a different institution. Therefore, it is very rare for our clients to accumulate that much money. That being said, there have been bank customers and program participants that have gone on to become successful players in the adult financial industry.
