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To: Lord Data who wrote (140)	3/20/1998 8:02:00 AM
From: Les White	Respond to of 2414

>>interesting niche...don't know a lot about the gay community<< I have little knowledge of the gay community also, other than the fact that my wife's hairdresser is gay and I buy art from a gay owned gallery. I was trying to think of a relevant comparable financial services niche model and could only come up with the Asian community loan clubs that serve Asian businesses in this country. Asians are a group who have found it difficult to get loans for their businesses. Not surprising when you're new in the country, don't have many assets, and might not even know the language. There is a community of Vietnamese immigrants along the gulf coast where I live. They pool their money in investment clubs and finance shrimp boats for those who are deemed worthy. The Japanese immigrants did this in the 40's also. Probably still do. There is a name for these community based loan pools but I don't know what it is. I built an addition to a Chinese restaurant recently. The owner has a sponsor who has helped him get financing for his business. The owner is very hard working and successful but says he still encounters prejudice and does not think he is treated equally by his bank. I think gay owned businesses encounter similar obstacles and would probably patronize a bank that didn't place barriers in their path. Les