Benaisha Poole-Watson has started the first FDIC-insured bank owned by an Afro-Latina.

She used her South Central upbringing to motivate her to succeed.

August 3rd 2023.

Benaisha Poole-Watson has started the first FDIC-insured bank owned by an Afro-Latina.
Benaisha Poole-Watson is a native of the South Central Los Angeles Crenshaw District who used her upbringing as motivation for her success. Growing up in the Crenshaw District, Poole-Watson was surrounded by the result of a system that disproportionately affects people of color. In her city, she observed the effects of poverty. Her African American father and Guatemalan mother divorced and her mother began to work a surplus of hours to make ends meet. Poole-Watson credits her work ethic to her mother.

Poole-Watson has had an incredible career path. After serving in the military and working as a corporate executive, she was interested in pursuing a career in real estate. In 2018, she opened Bailey Watson Real Estate Group with friend, Lori Bailey. She then had a modeling opportunity that provided her with the necessary funds to purchase her first investment property at 19 years old. Since then, Poole-Watson has been ranked in the top 1% of realtors in the United States. She sells homes starting from $60,000 to as much as $10 million and helps people with Section 8 Vouchers rent homes.

In 2021, Poole-Watson took things one step further and established Prime One Lending Group And Home Loans, a federally chartered bank. “I didn’t want any restrictions,” she said. “I was able to create all of this on my own. When you’re creating your bank, if you get to that point where you’re able to do this, you have the ability to pick and choose how you want to run your programs…I chose to set a 580 credit score as my limit because I knew this is where minorities sat.”

Currently, Prime One Lending Group and Home Loans does not provide customers with a checking or savings account. However, Poole-Watson has plans to expand the company. She is an inspiration to many and shows that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.

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