Adelphi Bank, a new Black-owned and controlled financial institution, opened Monday in Columbus, Ohio, making it the state’s first.
Adelphi was co-founded by Franklin County Ohio Commissioner Kevin Boyce, who told Columbus station WBNS that the bank was inspired by protests following the murder of George Floyd.
“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?’ ” Boyce said. “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?’”
Jordan Miller, the chairman of Huntington Bank and the CEO of Fifth-Third Bank’s Central Ohio Market, was chosen by Adelphi.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, the financial institution garnered around $25 million from 75 investors, including Huntington Bank, Park National Bank of Newark, Ohio, KeyBank of Cleveland, and Nationwide’s charitable arm.
There is an increasing demand for Black-owned and operated banks to address the persistent systematic racism that African Americans face when qualifying for housing and small business loans.
“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 an education for their children. So that’s why it’s significant,” Miller said, according to Ohio public radio station WYSO.
The number of black-owned banks in the United States declined from more than 130 in the 1930s to just 20 recognized as Black-owned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2022.