17 million Americans have no bank account

New York State is known as the nation's financial capital, yet nearly one in 10 of its residents do not have a checking or savings account.

And while Texas is densely populated with banks, nearly a quarter of households in the Dallas-Forth Worth area have gone to a pawn shop or check cashing company recently to carry out a simple financial transaction.

Those were just a few of the findings of a new government survey released Wednesday on Americans' access to basic banking services.

The survey, which tallied responses from roughly 54,000 U.S. households, marks the first time that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has published such data. (more)