Did You Know There Were 21 African American Owned Banks In The Country? | Urban Intellectuals (2024)

FAQs

How many African Americans own banks? ›

This historic institution is now known as Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company — America's oldest Black-owned bank. There are now 22 Black-owned banks operating in the United States as of 2023, according to the FDIC's list of MDIs.

These banks provided loans to people and businesses, and supported the local communities to their core. After desegregation, the pool of banks opened up for the Black communities, creating credit elsewhere for Black individuals and businesses.

William Washington Browne, a former slave and Union Army officer from Georgia, founded the first Black-owned bank in America—True Reformers Bank—on March 2, 1888. The name of the bank was inspired by the Grand Fountain United Order of True Reformers, a Black fraternal organization established by Browne.

For the first African American banks, it was not only about serving as a source of credit for businesses and consumers, but also about providing training opportunities and jobs for African Americans, supporting economic development and, importantly, pride.

OneUnited Bank is the nation's largest Black-owned and FDIC-insured bank. It was established by combining Black-owned banks from across the country.

Nashville home to America's oldest Black-owned bank

(WKRN) — The oldest Black-owned bank in our country can be found in Nashville, Tennessee. Citizens Savings Bank and Trust was founded in 1904, known as One Cent Savings Bank. Three African American men dreamed of helping others build wealth and economic security.

The Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain United Order of True Reformers in Richmond, Virginia was the first bank owned by African Americans in the United States. It was founded on March 2, 1888 by Reverend William Washington Browne and opened on April 3, 1889.

The need for a Black-owned bank was finally recognized in 1904 when the One Cent Savings Bank was founded by Nashville residents and businessmen R.H. Boyd, J.C. Napier and Preston Taylor. Today the bank is known as Citizens Savings and Loan and is now the oldest continually Black-owned Bank in America.

Black Americans have historically been denied lending opportunities, are more likely to be unbanked and are disproportionately charged more in banking fees. But supporting and investing in Black-owned banks can help combat some of the disparities in the banking system that affect the everyday needs of Black Americans.

Black-owned banks are those where at least half of the voting stock is owned by Black Americans. Black-led banks are those where the majority of the board of directors are Black and the bank primarily serves Black communities.

Who owns the bank first? ›

Bank First, formerly known as Victoria Teachers Mutual Bank, is an Australian financial institution based in the state of Victoria. As a mutual bank, Bank First is owned by its customers and not external shareholders. Each of its over 110,000 customers owns an equal share of the organisation.

Merge To Create Largest Black-Owned Bank in America. In an exciting development in the world of finance, two of the country's leading Black-owned banks — City First Bank and Broadway Financial Corp. — have finalized efforts to merge as City First Broadway.

In the United States, the terms "freedmen" and "freedwomen" refer chiefly to former African slaves emancipated during and after the American Civil War by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment.

Large numbers of slaves liberated by the Union Army had gone on its payroll. As this was the first bit of cash many of them had ever received, they needed a safe depository and basic financial education.

In November 1903, Maggie L. Walker (1864-1934) chartered the Saint Luke Penny Bank in Richmond, VA. She was the first African American woman to establish a bank in the United States. Walker served as president of the bank for nearly thirty years, increasing its assets tenfold, and steering it through economic turmoil.

Less than 1% of all FDIC-insured banks are Black-owned, according to the FDIC. Americans who identify solely as Black or African American make up 13.4% of the U.S. population today, but less than 1% of all FDIC-insured banks are considered Black-owned.

However, only 43% of sub-Saharan Africa's population has a traditional bank account, according to the International Monetary Fund.

About OneUnited Bank

We're the nation's largest Black-owned bank, first Black-owned digital bank, and award winning CDFI with branches in Boston, Los Angeles and Miami.

The average banker age is 43 years old. The most common ethnicity of bankers is White (66.5%), followed by Asian (12.3%), Hispanic or Latino (11.4%) and Black or African American (5.5%).