Industrial Bank, founded in 1934 by Jesse H. Mitchell, is celebrating its 85th anniversary.
With the help of nine initial investors, Mitchell first opened with one location and six employees, and since then, the bank has seen both adversity and triumph that include survival of the Great Depression and the 1960s riots.
Currently, the only African American family-owned bank in the D.C., area, Industrial lists among the top five largest black-owned banks in the United States.
Industrial Bank continues to remain impactful and needed in the D.C. community. According to a 2018 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation study, 67 percent of Black-owned banks’ mortgage loans went to Black borrowers, compared with fewer than 1 percent of community banks’ mortgage loans.
In addition to loan awards and financial services, Industrial reinvests more than 60 percent of its assets back into the community every year and continues to activate and support community programs such as the D.C. Jail Financial Literacy Program.
Bank President B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., as did his father and grandfather before him, still believes in the importance and power of financial education, entrepreneurship and homeownership.
As the District of Columbia and surrounding areas have undergone another demographic shift, Industrial remains strong as a bank that supports and services all people.
Today, the bank operates seven branches and will soon open a new branch in Largo, Maryland.