The Biggest Black Owned Banks in America
When you choose a bank, do you think about who owns it? Do you think about who gets loans from that bank and who doesn’t? Thousands of Americans started to consider these things when police shootings of two black men inspired rapper Killer Mike to urge consumers to move their deposits to black-owned banks in service of supporting the black community. And thus, the Bank Black movement was born.
A History of Black-Owned Banks
Social media spread the word with the help of the hashtags #BankBlack and #MoveYourMoney, resulting in an estimated $60 million being moved to black-owned banks in just nine months. The movement draws on a long history of calls for black financial empowerment that dates back to a bank established by Congress in 1864 to serve former slaves. In the many decades since, other banks have emerged to help the African-American community start businesses, buy homes and invest in each other when other banks weren’t doing so. Some of those banks are still around today.
According to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) study, black-owned banks made about 67% of their mortgage loans to black borrowers, compared with fewer than 1% made by community banks not run by minorities. So while there are only 19 black-owned banks in the entire country as of Oct. 30, 2018, according to BankBlackUSA.org, they do make a difference.
