Blacks get more in Queens, et cetera

First let me apologize for taking such a long time between posts. Now let's get right to it:

• A story in the New York Times this week reported that in New York's Queens borough, the median income of blacks has actually surpassed that of whites. But, the article points out, black immigrants from the Caribbean are doing far better than African-Americans in Queens, and the income numbers might be skewed simply because the most affluent whites have already absconded to Long Island.
• A Baltimore Sun story says the housing boom in that market was largely fueled by minorities, who took an increasing share of the mortgages let by banks over the past year. Good for the housing market and perhaps stats on wealth gaps, but too many of those mortgages were "interest-only", adjustable rate and so on, so there's a real danger the boom could be an even bigger bust for blacks and Hispanics now that rates are up and home values are tumbling.
  
• Bob Johnson's at it again. The BET founder turned hotel magnate (more on that tomorrow) launched a community bank in D.C. last month. The press release announcing the opening of Urban Trust Bank said it would " be a community financial partner to the diverse Washington, DC community, providing outreach and financial education in a service-oriented environment to build wealth for diverse urban consumers including young professionals, emerging families seeking first home loans and established families seeking second mortgages, single mothers and those who have never established a banking account."

All good things, but I had a few questions for the folks running Urban Trust, and asked for an interview with Dwight Bush, the man Johnson picked to lead the bank. I also asked if Bush might be willing to write something up, in his own words, about how the bank could best deal with the overwhelming financial issues facing the black community. I was told one or the other would happen in short order, but as of yet, neither has. But my curiosity hasn't gone away, so I'm posting the questions I asked him, via an email with Urban Trust's PR firm, verbatim:

1) In what area does he think African-Americans, especially young black professionals are most lacking in terms of financial education, and how can a for-profit bank address that while still making money?

2) The housing market in many cities -- especially DC -- priced out many families looking to buy their first homes, and now rates are rising. Part of the problem was "creative financing" that had people take out loans they couldn't afford while pushing up sales prices. How -- specifically -- can you help both families that can't afford their first homes and those in trouble on mortgages they already hold?

3) This isn't the first effort at targeting the unbanked -- how can you be more successful at getting them through your doors?

4) How can you possibly compete with the Bank of Americas of the world?

• Upcoming posts: More on Bob Johnson's hotel empire and how his fundraising could open the door for black entrepreneurs, a black financial advisor in Philly sets out to teach money skills to public school kids -- using real cash, and a question from a reader curious about homebuying.