Neglected minority-owned banks now attracting billions in funding and donations

The U.S. government is giving billions of dollars to minority-owned banks with an aim of helping to revitalize low-income communities in cities like Atlanta, Detroit and New Orleans. Some of the nation's largest financial institutions are also pitching in, recently commiting about $140 million to banks of color.

Minority Depository Institutions, or MDIs, have received $50 million as part of Bank of America's billion-dollar commitment last year to enhance racial equality, as well as $50 million and $40 million donations, from Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, respectively, as part of similar pledges to support underrepresented communities.  Executives from big U.S. banks say they're investing in MDIs because community financial institutions are seen as the gatekeepers of loans and funding that stimulate economic growth in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.