As chair of the City of St. Louis’ Funds Committee, Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones is leading the process to determine which financial institutions hold the city’s money. The committee, which also includes the mayor and comptroller, must finish its work in June.
Jones has some advice for financial institutions that want the city’s business: “Do more.”
“Previously, we evaluated their lending habits, but that’s only part of a bank’s business,” Jones said in a statement.
“What about workforce diversity, locations in underserved areas, and performance within the Community Reinvestment Act? It’s time for both the city and our partners to do more.”
Jones said she drives her staff to show her the data – how high of an interest rate the city earns on a bank account balance, of course. But she also looks at Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports, which show where banks and credit unions are lending.
Are these institutions offering credit only to affluent areas? Or are they also lending in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, which may have been previously denied credit due to discriminatory redlining?
Those are the question Jones said she is finding answers to as the committee deliberates on the city’s choices for banks.
Though Jones has been in the local news mostly due to fights over the city’s lucrative Parking Division, which her office manages, the treasurer also controls and monitors all the city’s bank accounts. There are currently 50 accounts under this office’s control.
In addition, the office is by ordinance the depository for all receipts of the city and provides a means for departments to make daily deposits. It also issues all payroll checks and deposits funds for federal and state taxes, funds for savings bonds, and other payroll deductions. Finally, the treasurer is responsible for making all investments for the city. This includes purchasing, selling and auditing the earnings on these investments.
When Jones took office as the city’s banker in 2013, she found an underperforming investment strategy and a lack of accountability for financial partners.
She quickly changed the strategy. In May 2013, she selected a joint venture of PFM Asset Management LLC as investment advisors and CCG Asset Management LLC as sub-advisors to manage short and intermediate-term fixed-income securities for the city. The new hire was both less expensive and minority-owned, she said. She also encouraged city departments to invest more of their money and pursued secure, higher-yield investments.
She said the city has seen a return of nearly $20 million more on its investments since then.
Now Jones said she will use her power to encourage banks and credit unions who hold the city’s money to “do more.”
