We're all familiar with neighborhoods around the Triangle that positively shout the message that people there are well-acquainted with big money. You know the profile: gourmet groceries where shoppers splurge on imported cheese and arugula (whatever that is). High-toned, trendy boutiques. Expensive restaurants. Banks.

Banks? Well, if people have money, they need someplace to put it. Conversely, banks typically shy away from poor communities as not worth the effort.

Southeast Raleigh -- defined here as the predominantly black and relatively less affluent section of the city south and east of downtown, inside the Beltline -- has been dealing with a shortage of banks for lo these many years. From the banks' standpoint, it's just business -- fewer assets in the community to invest, fewer loans to make, less profit. In the back of some bankers' minds there also has to be a concern about security.

But things are changing in Southeast Raleigh, for the better. Now SunTrust has decided that a bank there makes sense. This is both a proactive step to serve residents who can make good use of a neighborhood bank and an affirmation that the business climate in this part of the capital city is on the upswing.

The new SunTrust branch will be in the Shoppes at Pine Hills, at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Raleigh Boulevard. That center already boasts a large Kroger. With a bank and other stores, its amenities will be on par with those at typical shopping centers around the city. Many folks who live in that area must be saying: finally.

First Citizens had operated a branch at the Longview Shopping Center on New Bern Avenue but shut it down as the center coped with the closing of its Winn-Dixie. Other banks steered clear of Shoppes at Pine Hills. SunTrust's move represents a commitment to the well- being of not just Southeast Raleigh, but the city as a whole, and many will be grateful.