FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Good morning. I want to thank Senator Sarbanes for the leadership he has provided on expanding access to capital and financial services in all of our communities. I also would like to thank Postmaster General Henderson for his role in making this pilot program possible. We look forward to working with KeyCorp to make the Postal ATM pilot project a success. I am personally very honored to be participating in this event -- Baltimore is my hometown.

Our country is enjoying unprecedented economic prosperity. One of the most important challenges that we face is finding ways to enable all Americans to share in this prosperity. Providing people with access to financial services is critical to bringing them into the economic mainstream. It is increasingly difficult to participate fully in our modern economy without access to a bank account and high quality banking services. Today, having a bank account can be as essential as having a telephone or reliable transportation. It is a critical step to enabling families and individuals to save money, to establish a credit record, and to plan for the future.

Unfortunately, the ease of access to financial services has been reduced significantly in many communities. When my parents and grandparents shopped at Lexington Market, there were two banks down the block. Where are the Eutaw Savings Bank and Maryland National Bank branches today? Times have changed. Banks that once served this community are gone.

Today, we are taking a step to restore a part of the banking services this community once had. We want every American to enjoy the same convenience and access that our parents and grandparents enjoyed. The Postal ATM pilot project is part of Treasurys efforts to find new and creative ways to help individuals and families in low and moderate income areas. They need to have access to their money in a safe, convenient, and affordable manner. We believe the Postal ATM pilot project has the potential to make the financial system more accessible in communities where traditional banking services are limited.

The Postal ATM pilot project is just one of our initiatives. Treasury also has launched a program to work with financial institutions to offer low-cost, no-frills accounts. The accounts, called ETAs, will be available to recipients of federal payments. These accounts will be yet another way of bringing individuals who do not now have bank accounts into the financial mainstream. By allowing people to receive federal benefits electronically, they will no longer have to worry about losing their checks or having them stolen.

Providing safe and convenient access to banking services to neighborhoods such as this one, will help to ensure that the financial system is working for all Americans.

Thank you.