Chicago Deposits Millions Into City's Last Black-Owned Bank

Source: ISF Bank

Chicago officials hope that the investment will help drive economic development in the city's majority-black neighborhoods.

In a report from Bloomberg, Kurt Summers, Chicago's treasurer, announced that the city was giving the Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan Association $20 million so that the black-owned bank remains open. It is the last black-owned bank in the city that is left, following the closing of Seaway Bank & Trust last year.

"If we're gonna be serious about supporting those communities and supporting community bank, and what they do for small businesses, [then] we have to look for opportunities like this," Summers said.

READ: #BankBlack: How Investing In Black Banks Can Change The Game

The investment was inspired by the #BankBlack movement that has encouraged people throughout the country to open up accounts at black-owned banks. Illinois Service Federal has faced financial struggles throughout the past few years. In 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency warned the bank that it would be shut down if it failed to raise more capital. In 2016, the bank received a notable contribution of $9 million from Ghana's Nduom family.

However, the deposit made by the city provides a "much-needed boost to our financial foundation, ensuring that we can strengthen the economic base of our communities and help people fulfill their dreams," Papa Kwesi Nduom, the bank's chairman, said in a statement.

Source: bloomberg.com