YOUNGSTOWN Church protests bank

The pastor wants inner-city churches to monitor how banks lend money.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- New Bethel Baptist Church and some of its members closed accounts at Bank One today to protest the lack of a loan agreement for the church's $3.5 million expansion.
"We want to make a statement," said the Rev. Kenneth Simon outside the bank's downtown office this morning. "If Youngstown is going to turn around, inner-city churches have to pull together."
The Rev. Mr. Simon said he hopes to turn today's action into a long-running campaign to force banks to make more loans to inner-city residents, business and organizations.
He said Bank One's offer for the church expansion project "came up short." Church officials decided the church accounts should be with Second National Bank, which lent money for the bulk of the project, he said.
Bank's stance
Jeff Lyttle, vice president of media relations for Bank One in Columbus, said the bank made a loan offer to the church but church leaders didn't like the terms. Bank officials thought the terms were appropriate for the risk the bank would assume, Lyttle said.
Mr. Simon said bank officials told church leaders they didn't think the church could raise enough money to meet its pledges. The church has $1 million raised for the project, and members have pledged to donate the rest.
Members of New Bethel were coming out of Bank One this morning after closing their accounts.
Mr. Simon said church officials closed the church's account and advised members only to consider which bank they are using for personal deposits. The church has about 800 active members.
Mr. Simon said he wasn't sure how much money the church was withdrawing from the bank because of recent transactions.
Monitoring loans
He said he and other pastors are starting an effort to monitor how banks make small business and home loans to people in the inner city. Once a survey of bank performance is completed, the pastors will try to raise awareness of these records within the community, he said.
"The banks have an obligation to invest in the inner city," he said.
Construction at New Bethel started in September. The first phase is a 1,050-seat sanctuary, choir and board room, offices, library and resource center and adult classrooms. The construction is expected to be finished about this time next year.
The new sanctuary will be built at Hillman Street and Cleveland Avenue in what is now a parking lot.
The second and third phases of the expansion aren't scheduled yet, but the second phase calls for the renovation of the building for youth programs. The third phase would be the construction of a multipurpose center and banquet facility.
shilling@vindy.com