New Black-owned bank comes to Minneapolis

How will it benefit North Minneapolis? 

By Harry Colbert, Jr., editor-in-chief

Access. 

It’s as simple as that. 

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, in 2018, 64 percent of majority Black neighborhoods – regardless of income levels – lacked a branch bank location in their community. North Minneapolis, which is one such community that is majority Black (45 percent Black, 30 percent white, 13 percent Asian, 8 percent Latinx, and 1 percent Native-American), has just three banks (standalone U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo locations and a TCF/Huntington National Bank inside of Cub Foods on West Broadway) servicing more than 50,000 people. Conversely, there are double the number of high interest predatory check cashing locations servicing the same geographic area. The need for access to traditional retail banking cannot be overstated. 

So, when it was announced that a new Black-owned bank is coming to Minneapolis, a logical thought would have been the bank would be geographically located in North Minneapolis, but that is not the case. However, through a unique partnership, residents of North Minneapolis will have access to the new First Independence Bank set to open this November at 3430 University Ave. S.E.

Five banks — Bank of America, Bremer Bank, TCF Bank (Huntington Bank), U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo — are supporting First Independence Bank’s arrival with capital, research, marketing and other services. The established Twin Cities banks’ support of First Independence should not be seen as charity according to representatives of the established five. 

“We’re all working to bridge the wealth gap, and bringing in an established full-service Black-owned bank to the Twin Cities will go a long way in helping to do that,” said Laurie Nordquist, president, Upper Midwest region, Wells Fargo.

“This collaboration is not a diversity initiative, it’s an initiative to do what’s best for America,” said Greg Cunningham, chief diversity officer for U.S. Bank. “The wealth gap is not a Black problem, it’s an American problem.” 

Born as a response to the 1967 Detroit riots, First Independence’s introduction to Minneapolis comes under similar circumstances. 

“The parallel with what happened to George Floyd (and the cause of the Detroit riots) is just frightening,” said Kenneth Kelly, president and CEO of First Independence, one of 18 Black-owned banks in the nation. 

This former Wells Fargo at 3430 University Ave. S.E. will be the site of the inaugural Minneapolis branch of First Independence Bank. Photo from Google Maps

The May 2020 murder of Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin led to days of unrest that saw the destruction of much of Minneapolis, including in North Minneapolis where one of its few banks, the U.S. Bank on West Broadway Avenue, was targeted. It was just this past July when the branch again became fully operational. 

The decision to locate the inaugural First Independence Bank in an area just east of the University of Minnesota campus was less about the demographics of the surrounding area, but more about opportunity. The location – a former Wells Fargo branch – was gifted to Project for Pride and Living (PPL) and PPL offered a favorable lease to First Independence. Kelly said locations in North Minneapolis were scouted, including along West Broadway and Lowry avenues, but walking into an already existing bank building and the terms of the lease were reasons North Minneapolis was not selected. To offset not having a branch in North Minneapolis, First Independence formed an agreement with Wells Fargo and TCF/Huntington to allow its customers to use Wells and TCF ATMs at no charge. A second First Independence branch is slated to open along Lake Street near Hiawatha Avenue in South Minneapolis. Kelly said he hopes to have an eventual branch in North Minneapolis, but he does not have a timeframe nor guarantee for expansion.

“North Minneapolis and the African-American community were at the top of my conversations with Kenneth and his team,” said Saundra Samuels, president and CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone and part of the group that worked to bring First Independence to Minneapolis. “I look forward to the bank’s success, expansion and reach into our community in the future.” 

Damon Jenkins, former vice president and district manager with Wells Fargo will lead the expansion into the state as senior vice president and Twin Cities regional market president. The new Minneapolis branch will be the first endeavor outside of Metro Detroit for the 51-year-old bank.