WASHINGTON, D.C. — Along with a bruised credit history, sometimes
subprime buyers — especially ones who might be doing business with buy-here,
pay-here dealers — might not even have a bank account, a trend the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp. says is on the rise.

The FDIC today released the results of its 2011 National
Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, what government officials
believe is the most comprehensive survey on the unbanked and underbanked in the
United States.

The survey indicates that more than one in four U.S.
households — 28.3 percent to be exact — are either unbanked or underbanked, a
slight increase from the findings of the FDIC's 2009 inaugural survey.

According to the 2011 survey, 821,000 more U.S. households
have become unbanked since the first survey in 2009, representing a 0.6
percentage point increase.

The FDIC discovered more than half of all unbanked
households said they do not have an account because they believe they do not
have enough money or that they do not need or want an account.

In addition, the report shows that three in 10 households
nationally do not hold a savings account.

Other key findings of the survey include:

—8.2 percent of U.S. households are unbanked. This
represents one in 12 households in the nation, or nearly 10 million in total.
Approximately 17 million adults live in unbanked households.

—20.1 percent of U.S. households are underbanked. This
represents one in five households, or 24 million households with 51 million
adults.

—29.3 percent of households do not have a savings account, while
about 10 percent do not have a checking account. About two-thirds of households
have both checking and savings accounts.

Furthermore, the survey showed that one-quarter of
households have used at least one alternative financial service (AFS) such as
non-bank check cashing or payday loans in the past year, and almost one in 10
households have used two or more types of AFS products or services.

In all, officials found 12 percent of households used an AFS
in the past 30 days, including four in 10 unbanked and underbanked households.

Officials explained the survey, conducted every two years by
the FDIC in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of the Census, is geared to
provide the banking industry and policy makers with insights and guidance on
the demographics and needs of the unbanked and underbanked.

"The results of the 2011 National Survey of Unbanked and
Underbanked Households indicate that insured financial institutions have an
important chance to grow their customer base by expanding opportunities that
bring unbanked and underbanked individuals into mainstream banking," said FDIC
acting chairman Martin Gruenberg.

"There are many positives to establishing a relationship
with an insured financial institution. Access to an account at a federally
insured institution provides households with the opportunity to conduct basic
financial transactions, build wealth, save for emergency and long-term security
needs and access credit on fair and affordable terms," Gruenberg went on to
say.

In light of the FDIC findings, organizations such as the
National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers emphasizes the importance of
keeping buyers in a payment routine in order to keep collection operations
running smoothly. NABD founder Ken Shilson elaborated on this point in a recent
commentary titled, "Why The Business Now Could Be Called ‘Buy Here, Pay
There,'" which can be found here.

Panel discussions and more industry networking opportunities
are on tap for the upcoming East Coast NABD BHPH Conference in Atlanta on Oct.
21– 23. For more details, visit www.bhphinfo.com or call (832) 767-4759.