Banks can only create credit equivalent to ten times their tier 1 capital, which is generated from interest on deposits, banking fees, and the sale of stock. But because Black-owned banks are chronically undercapitalized, their force for good in communities of color has been severely (and artificially) restrained.

Answering calls for racial equity, corporate America has recently turned its focus to Black-owned banks. Earlier this summer, Netflix said it would bank up to 2 percent of its holdings with Black banks. Unfortunately, that’s not a solution to the banks’ undercapitalization—and it creates a new problem of its own design.