Black-owned Bank Receives Infusion From City

The last Black-owned bank in Chicago will receive a $20 million deposit of city funds, reports the Chicago Tribune. Founded in Chicago in 1934 to help give the black community better access to credit, ISF Bank is one of just more than 20 Black-owned banks in the country, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The deposit is meant to help drive economic development in the city’s neighborhoods, according to a city official. Though the Bronzeville bank survived the financial crisis and remains the last Black-owned bank standing in Chicago, it has seen recent overhauls. Ghana’s Nduom family, which has a conglomerate that spans West Africa and the United Kingdom, invested $9 million into the bank in June 2016. The family brought plans to make services more efficient, among other changes. Now, the bank is in a more stable position, and the time was right for the city to make the deposit. City Treasurer Kurt Summers on Sept. 18 announced the deposit into Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loan Association.