Black-owned Adelphi Bank opens in King-Lincoln Bronzeville: 5 things to know

The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
Community member Debera (Momma) Diggs jokes around with the ribbon after cutting it at Adelphi Bank's opening ceremony Monday afternoon in the Lincoln Theatre. Around her is Adelphi Bank's Chairman and CEO Jordan Miller (from left) and Park National Bank CEO David Trautman and Park CFO Brady Burt. Hundreds of people took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday to celebrate the grand opening of Adelphi Bank, which is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.

The Black-owned Adelphi Bank held its ribbon cutting and opening ceremony in Columbus on Monday in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville area. Here's five things to know about the institution.

State Senator Hearcel Craig shares a moment with Veda Norris before the ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the grand opening of Adelphi Bank, which is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio. Both Craig and Norris said they grew up in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood where the bank is located. Mandatory Credit: Doral Chenoweth-The Columbus Dispatch

Who came up with Adelphi Bank?

Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce is the bank's vice chair and CEO Jordan Miller retired as the central Ohio market leader of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank in 2019. Emergency room physician Kamran Haydar is also one of its founders.

Boyce previously said the idea for starting a Black-owned bank came from a discussion on racial inequities in the wealth gap after being pepper sprayed at a George Floyd protest Downtown.

More: Black-owned Adelphi Bank arises in Columbus neighborhood out of George Floyd protests

Other founders of the bank include former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman; Crabbe Brown & James Managing Partner Larry James; Squire Patton Boggs Senior Partner Alex Shumate; OhioHealth President of the OhioHealth Foundation and Senior Vice President Karen Morrison; former Ohio State Controller and Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority board member Greta Russell; and Melissa Ingwersen, retired Columbus market leader for KeyBank.

Representative Dontavius L. Jarrells (center, blue shirt) gestures as the ribbon falls on the new Adelphi Bank. Hundreds took part in the Lincoln Theatre ceremony for Adelphi, which is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.
Representative Dontavius L. Jarrells (center, blue shirt) gestures as the ribbon falls on the new Adelphi Bank. Hundreds took part in the Lincoln Theatre ceremony for Adelphi, which is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.

Why is such a bank needed?

Federal Reserve data show that average Black and Hispanic households earn about half as much as the average white household and own only about 15% to 20% as much net wealth. The percentage of Black and Hispanic households without a bank account is much higher than white households.

Black-owned banks becoming rare

Boyce said there were at one point more than 100 Black-owned banks across the country. That number has dropped as banks have consolidated. Today, there are 145 minority-owned banks and just 20 of them Black-owned, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.

Adelphi Bank is the lone Black-owned bank in Ohio.

Adelphi Bank Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Tommy Brooks (right) and Tim Spence, CEO of 5/3 Bank, talk before the ribbon cutting of the new Adelphi Bank, which is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio. At far left is Sean Grant of the Columbus Partnership and former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.
Adelphi Bank Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Tommy Brooks (right) and Tim Spence, CEO of 5/3 Bank, talk before the ribbon cutting of the new Adelphi Bank, which is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio. At far left is Sean Grant of the Columbus Partnership and former Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.

Huntington, others back Adelphi Bank

The new venture has many investors, including Huntington, whose CEO Steve Steinour said, "It’s important as a community that we embrace them and do everything we can to help them succeed."

The bank raised roughly $25 million from about 75 investors, including Huntington and Newark-based Park National Bank. Fifth Third is also an investor in Adelphi along with Ohio's other big bank, Cleveland-based KeyBank, and the Nationwide Foundation, the charitable arm of one the state's biggest insurers, Nationwide.

City and state officials and bank executives take part in the Adelphi Bank ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday at the Lincoln Theatre. Adelphi is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.
City and state officials and bank executives take part in the Adelphi Bank ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday at the Lincoln Theatre. Adelphi is currently the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.

Adelphi name has local history

Adelphi is the Greek word for brothers.

The bank, at 800 E. Long St., is just a stone's throw from the former Adelphi Loan & Savings Co., the first Black-owned bank in Columbus. It was formed in 1921.

The bank is part of a $25 million development by Columbus-based Borror and Kingsley & Co. of Cincinnati known as Adelphi Quarter. The original Adelphi Loan & Savings was incorporated into the new building.

Adelphi Banks is the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.
Adelphi Banks is the only Black-owned bank in Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 things to know about Columbus' first Black-owned bank