She didn’t come to the industry the traditional route and she doesn’t take a conventional approach to addressing finance issues for minority businesses. Her forthright perspectives on the banking industry, the debacle that almost brought the nation to it’s knees and ways to resolve the crisis are an honest examination of what happened and why.
Rolling out spoke with Carter recently in an exclusive interview in Detroit and here are her thoughts on the state of the economy and solutions for African Americans.
–roz edward
On how the financial crisis happened.
Back in 1999 Congress modified an appeal which separated commercial banks and investment. … [then] the Clinton administration, wanted to make home lending easier for minorities that [created] a huge bill, but there was a ton of cash available in the market. … we had a lot of individuals being approved [for mortgages] that would not normally qualify. So you had a lot of renters who should have stayed renters, becoming owners. Then you had a lot of inflation in the market, so you had homes that were in certain communities that were valued at 50,000 dollars, tripled but nothing changed. And the whole premise was if I get this free cheap money, all I would be doing is refinancing, instead of structuring it. A lot of the major cities have other major industries, which diversify the risks … unfortunately that is not the case in Detroit.
On how African Americans can accumulate money.
Well, you know because we are in a recession, the true source of income right now is entrepreneurship. … I recommend anybody who is interested in getting into business know the rules of the game if you want to play it. So definitely, definitely do your research. Have a tax consultant, an attorney, and a financial consultant.
Try to find that special niche and try to capture it. The thing is it’s all about diversification, You can’t continue to get water from a well before it goes empty … you have to find another well.
