Map depicting percent of unbanked households in NYC 2013The Department of Consumer Affairs, in partnership with the Urban Institute, released two reports on Tuesday finding that more than half of New Yorkers lack adequate savings for an emergency, and 1.14 million don’t have bank accounts or are underbanked.

Rosa Franco, director of lending at Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, was featured in Amsterdam New York’s coverage of the reports. She noted that people without bank accounts have trouble establishing credit and thus do not qualify for conventional loans for emergencies. “So if they need a loan,” she said, “they use predatory lenders like loan sharks; the interest can be 500% a year.”

Read more in AM New York.

Links to the reports:
Where Are the Unbanked and Underbanked in New York City?

How Do New Yorkers Perceive Their Financial Security?

Learn more about the reports from the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Urban Institute.