The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

WASHINGTON - More than a million American households lost access to basic banking services like savings accounts last year, bank regulators say. Those families are among 30 million households that have little or no access to such services, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Poor, minority and immigrant families are especially hard-hit. In all, 25.6 percent of U.S. households either lack bank accounts or use payday loans, check-cashing services and other costly alternatives to traditional banks, according to the survey.

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