COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new bank opened in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood Monday evening.
Adelphi Bank is one of a handful of banks listed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as owned and operated by Black or African Americans. FDIC data shows there are 21 Black-owned financial institutions as of Dec.31, 2022, a 43% decline since 2001.
Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce told 10TV the idea of starting a bank stemmed from a conversation with a friend following protests of George Floyd's death.
“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?'”
Boyce co-founded Adelphi Bank, located at East Long Street and North Garfield Avenue, which is steps away from The Adelphi Loans and Savings Company's original building which opened in 1921. Adelphi tapped Jordan Miller, from Huntington Bank and the CEO of the Central Ohio market for Fifth-Third Bank to be the chairman.
“We think they went out of business in the Great Depression,” said Miller. “Not exactly sure, but we're here to finish the mission that they started up… a continuing of history, but basically to serve our community and to serve the people that live here. Not just the people that live in this community, but the rest of Franklin County in the rest of the state of Ohio.”
The mission was to make lending more equitable in the Black community. According to a study by LendingTree, Black homebuyers are denied loans at twice the rate of the overall population, on average 18% of the time.
Miller says their research shows the need for help is during the pre-application process.
“Someone wanting to buy a home, going in and being prepared, understanding what their credit score is rather than just going in and getting denied," said Miller. "You need to get these things, we can help you get these things cleaned up. So you can get the house you can start your business or whatever it is.”
Miller told 10TV that Adelphi has ambitious plans to expand beyond being the only Black-owned bank in Franklin County, and Ohio.
“We'll have digital capability to expand to grow and to reach other people. And we're starting to get outreach from people beyond our borders already,” he said. “We're getting calls from other cities and outside of the state of people that have projects that they want to do, and they want to know if we can help them.”