CHICAGO – On Feb. 21, 2023, rolling out held its Paperwork Project event featuring three U.S. Bank executives. Micae Brown, the assistant vice president of business banking, moderated a panel that included the vice president of business banking, Josh Meyers; and the senior vice president of consumer and business banking, Mary Mieklthun. The three U.S. Bank professionals work tirelessly to educate the community about financial matters and to help Black businesses build wealth.
Brown asked her colleagues how Black businesses can benefit from U.S. Bank’s strategy, how to avoid killing deals, and how their community benefits plan serves the public.
How important is strategy to U.S. Bank and how do you use that strategy to develop solutions for Black businesses?
Mary Mieklthun: I would argue that strategy is an important foundation for any business. You have to have an understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish and for us, it’s the power of potential for consumers in businesses so they can live their best lives. Strategy is grounded in an understanding of the communities that we are serving, the people that we are trying to help, and their needs. So, when you talk about creating programming, products or services that specifically cater to, in this case Black business owners, we ground ourselves in research, both primary and secondary.
What are some things that you’ve been hearing firsthand from business owners about their experience working with financial institutions?
Josh Meyers: A lot of times there’s this enigma or mystery of what you need to bring to the bank, how to get a business loan, and where you start. So, hopefully, today I’ll be able to help demystify those things.
What are some common mistakes that can kill deals?
JM: If you feel like there is going to be a blip in your history, I think you should tell your banker that upfront. Not all bankers ask, but I always ask if there’s anything I should know. SBA loans for instance; if you have a criminal record, you should let that banker know [because] there’s some red tape that could kill the deal. Three months into something, you don’t want to have wasted your time going through all that. Get it all out on the table.
What are some ways that U.S. Bank is serving the public with the community benefits plan?
MM: Our bankers are often volunteering in the community too and teaching financial education courses, and things like that. We have a whole community affairs team, who work with partners in the community, including helping with funding for their programming that would support small businesses. I mentioned research earlier, [but] we have a whole team that help us with filing surveys, doing focus groups, and talking to customers about their needs. So, there are a variety of ways that we both are truly in the community working arm and arm with community partners, business owners and customers; but then we also go out and proactively seek input in a variety of ways too.