7Gen Bank, a Native American Community Development Bank Information

A 2017 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation survey finds 16.5% of Native American households to be unbanked or underbanked, the highest among all racial groups. In San Diego County eight tribes are supported by only one bank on the their reservation. The Federal Reserve refers to these communities as “bank deserts." The lasting impact on these people include being disadvantaged throughout their adult life. Without access to banking and adequate financial knowledge, some tribal people have to pay interest rates as high as 18.99% APR for their auto and house loans. The broader impact on the native communities is a lack of community development as many tribal members cannot build financial equity. Cynthia Tam founded 7Gen Bank, under the Native Finance Development Corporation, to help serve these peoples with banking and help them to obtain affordable home loans. 7Gen Bank is a Native American Community Development Finance Institution (native CDFI), guided by an Iroquois philosophy of making impactful choices that can benefit the next seven generations.