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The decade of the 1990s was a time of substantial public policy
development relating to low-to-moderate income families. This paper
explores factors affecting bank account ownership, with a special
emphasis on the effects that public policies may have had in bringing
low-to- moderate income families into the financial mainstream.
Access
to a basic transaction account is the entry for most consumers
into the
financial arena, leading to credit, savings, investment, and
insurance
products, thus enabling economic self-sufficiency. Data are from the
1989, 1992, 1995 and 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances. Results
indicate
that public policies may have made a significant difference in moving
households into the financial mainstream.
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