Black Businesses Supported During Pandemic Helped Wells Fargo Create Current $2.1B Economic Impact Nationwide

by Jeffrey McKinney July 24, 2024 The ripple effect occurred as businesses leveraged their funding to garner public and private investment. In a major new development spurred largely by Black businesses, a fund launched by Wells Fargo during the pandemic has produced a total economic impact of $2.1 billion nationwide, according to a fresh analysis. That impact stems from the ripple effect of the roughly $420 million Open for Business Fund, the San Francisco-based banking and financial services giant launched during the peak of COVID-19 around four years ago. The funding empowered over 200 nonprofits nationwide to deliver urgent capital and expertise to thousands of local businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. Starting in 2020, grantees report the OBF has now benefited over 336,000 small businesses. It purportedly has helped them keep or create more than 461,000 jobs in U.S. communities. Nearly 80% of the funds went to racially or ethnically diverse-owned firms, 72% to low-or-moderate income firms, and 53% to women-owned businesses. The analysis comes after Wells Fargo was criticized and hit with hefty fines for its home lending practices in recent years. The bank has also been a large contributor to helping individuals and businesses in the Black...