Economy

First Black-owned bank in the United States in two decades opens in Ohio

The Statehouse News Bureau | By Karen Kasler

Published May 2, 2023 at 1:03 AM EDT

Gov. Mike DeWine and Adelphi CEO Jordan Miller (center) join government and business leaders and Adelphi board members in a ceremonial ribbon opening Adelphi Bank for business. The event was held at Columbus' historic Lincoln Theater across the street from the bank because of rain. — Gov. Mike DeWine and Adelphi CEO Jordan Miller (center) join government and business leader and Adelphi board members in the ceremonial ribbon cutting opening Adelphi Bank for business. The event was held at Columbus' historic Lincoln Theater across the street from the bank because of rain.

There are just 21 Black-owned banks in the United States. The newest one is in Columbus – it’s the first one in the country in two decades, and the only one in Ohio.

The CEO of Adelphi Bank is Jordan Miller, who was at Huntington Bank and was CEO of Fifth Third Bank’s central Ohio region.

Miller said the bank, which raised $24 million in startup capital, can help address the racial wealth gap – starting with the nearly one-fifth of Black homebuyers who are rejected for mortgages.

“Where there are black owned banks, black people get mortgages. Black business owners get financing for those supplier diversity or supply chain issues that they have. People get a conversation with the professionals. They get education for their children," Miller said. "So that’s why it’s significant.”

Adelphi’s board and executive leadership team are 95% Black.

The bank is named for the Adelphi Loans and Savings Company, founded in 1921 on Columbus’ near east side as central Ohio’s only Black owned bank. Like many other financial institutions, it collapsed in the Great Depression.