New Black-Owned Bank Opens In Ohio Amid Alarming Decline Of Black Financial Institutions
The number of Black-owned banks in the United States plummeted from more than 130 in the 1930s to just 20 recognized as Black-owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2022. Add one more to the list. A new Black-owned and operated financial institution named Adelphi Bank opened Monday (May 1) in Columbus, Ohio – the only one in the state.
Franklin County, Ohio Commissioner Kevin Boyce, a co-founded Adelphi, told Columbus station WBNS that protests following the murder of George Floyd inspired the bank’s launch.
“My business partner called me and he asked, ‘Why are we still going through this? And why are these types of things still happening in America?’” said Boyce. “A lot of it is rooted in racism and poverty, and specifically the wealth gap. And I said, 'We need more financial institutions that cater towards building wealth for our residents.' And he said, ‘Why don't you start a bank?'”
Adelphi chose Jordan Miller, from Huntington Bank and the CEO of the Central Ohio market for Fifth-Third Bank, to be the chairman.
The bank raised about $25 million from about 75 investors, including Huntington Bank, Newark, Ohio-based Park National Bank, Cleveland-based KeyBank and the charitable arm of insurance company Nationwide, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Black-owned and operated banks are needed in response to the ongoing systemic racism Black Americans encounter in the banking system when applying for home and small business loans.
Lenders give fewer loans to Black applicants than White applicants even when their incomes were high and had the same debt ratios, an analysis reported by The Associated Press found.
High-earning Black applicants, those with at least $100,000 in annual income, with less debt were rejected more often than high-earning white applicants who have more debt, the study noted.
“Where there are Black owned banks, Black people get mortgages. Black business owners get financing for those supplier diversity or supply chain issues that they have. People get a conversation with the professionals. They get education for their children. So that’s why it’s significant,” Miller said, according to Ohio public radio station WYSO.
