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photo by steed media service
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VP of Community Development, Fifth Third Bank
Byna Elliott is Detroit’s financial police officer. From her office at
Fifth Third Bank, the vice president of community development routinely
“patrols” over the community’s burgeoning economic landscape to ensure
that mortgage and banking entities abide by the laws of fair lending.
“As
an advocate for equal access to credit for everyone, I thought it was
important from a financial institution’s perspective to really talk to
the NAACP and its members about the responsibility of lenders in
partnering with our communities to make sure they really thrive,” she
said after a panel discussion during the NAACP convention. “Some of the
challenges are the lack of regulatory oversight over the mortgage
lenders and mortgage brokers and mortgage broker companies.”
Regardless
of your pedigree or socioeconomic status, Elliott implores the scores
of homeowner aspirants to educate themselves sufficiently to prevent
becoming a victim of predatory lending. It’s a role that she relishes.
“It’s about helping people. If you’re doing this job just to collect a
paycheck, I don’t think that’s a rewarding or useful use of your time,”
she says. “It’s about changing lives. It’s about helping the community.
And it’s [about] helping people who look like me to prosper, to gain
wealth, and really grow and change our community.” – terry shropshire
