To Samuel P. Golden, ombudsman in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, nothing more graphically illustrates the shortcomings of the banking industry’s efforts to reach people of color than the case of Joe Guillen, a professional baseball player.

“Last month, the Washington Post reported a purse-snatching of the sort that is regrettably too common and routine on the streets of our big cities,” Golden said in a speech at the Urban Financial Services Coalition’s annual convention in Dallas. “However, this incident warranted press coverage because Jose Guillen, a player on the Washington Nationals baseball team, was impacted by the robbery. Per the newspaper, Mr. Guillen’s 24-year-old girlfriend had just finished cashing his paycheck and wiring some of the proceeds back home. Almost before she knew what happened, a thief made off with the cash.”

Warming to his subject, Golden said, “There are two remarkable aspects to this story. First, Mr. Guillen reportedly earns $4 million a year playing baseball; his weekly salary check was $12,000. Secondly, when the purse was snatched, his girlfriend was emerging not from a bank, but from a local check-cashing establishment.

“So I ask you: if a person well paid even by major league baseball standards – someone with the best agents and technical advisers at his disposal – chooses to rely on nonetheless on a local check cashier, despite their notorious fees and security risks, what does it say about the barriers that still exist between the banking system and millions of Americans, especially those whose first language is not English? In other words, if financially-prominent individuals haven’t been persuaded to use direct deposit and regular banking services, is it any wonder that millions of others of lesser means and sophistication continue to rely on storefront money service businesses?”

Hispanics are expected to double their presence in the U.S. over the next 50 years, making up a quarter of the nation’s population. The Census Bureau projects that shortly after 2050, Hispanics, Blacks and Asians will constitute more that 50 percent of the population, making Whites a minority in the U.S. population for the first time.

“The question is, how well prepared is the banking industry for this sweeping change in our national demographics?” Golden asked. “Judging by the Washington Post story, the answer would seem to be, not as well as it needs to be.”

Golden pointed out that people of color are overrepresented among the 10 percent of households that are “unbanked,” meaning they do not have regular accounts at federally-insured institutions.

“It is precisely those households that rely inordinately on cash checking establishments, rent-to-own outlets, pawnshops, and payday lenders to conduct their basic financial business. In so doing they pay a heavy price – not only in fees and potential loss due to theft, as Mr. Guillen discovered, but also in the credit histories that these households are not building through integration in the mainstream financial system.”

In addition to underserving the so-called fringe banking customers, Golden said financial institutions may be hurting themselves with their “incredible shrinking grace period.” He continued, “And, always, the fees: late fees, overlimit fees, and balance transfer fees that seem to go only in one direction. That would be the same direction people’s blood pressure goes when they see that the outstanding balance on which they have been paying 15 percent APR is now going to cost them 32 percent because they were a few days late in paying an electric bill.”

Golden, an African-American, told members of the Urban Financial Services Coalition that because they are Black, they have a special obligation to argue against practices that could, in the end, harm both the industry and people of color.

“While the bank’s reputation with its customers is a priceless asset, it is also a perishable one,” he reminded them. “I would argue that real leadership consists not only in recognizing that fact, but, even more, becoming an advocate for it.”

The Urban Financial Services Coalition, formerly known as the National Association of Urban Bankers, for years had a good age mix among its members. Now, largely because of numerous mergers and acquisitions that led to many older bankers retiring early or accepting buyouts, the association’s members tend to be younger, many of them in their 30s. And the younger trend may continue if banks continue to alienate their customers.

“We have long contended that some consumer banking practices walk a dangerous tightrope between what’s impermissible and what is merely shortsighted, injudicious, and inadvisable,” Golden said. “This reminds me of the saying I heard from my Dad – ‘pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered.’ Your retail customers should never be viewed as a feeding ground. While overreaching for short-term gain is understandable, excessive greed for profits, at any cost, is never wise.”