BusinessIndustrial Bank celebrates 90 years of service in Washington

Industrial Bank celebrates 90 years of service in Washington

B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., the president and CEO of Industrial Bank, darted from place to place at the Howard Theatre in Northwest D.C. on Aug. 20, making sure everything was in order for the 90th-anniversary celebration of his family-run financial institution.As people filed into the theater wearing business casual attire and some wearing sneakers as Mitchell requested in the invitation, he shook hands and accepted congratulations on his family managing the District’s long-standing Black bank for almost a century. Nicole Elam, the president and CEO of the National Bankers Association, an organization consisting mainly of African American-owned financial institutions, stood close to Mitchell, admiring the purpose of the event.
“I am honored to be here,” said Elam. “Industrial has been a dedicated member of the National Banking Association. It has been an important part of the economic development of the Black community here in Washington. Businesses such as Carolina’s Kitchen, Lee’s Flower Shop and Ben’s Chili Bowl have benefitted from Industrial Bank. Doyle has also been a leader in the [National Bankers Association] and is leading the effort to get a new headquarters for us.”

As Industrial Bank celebrated its anniversary, Mitchell also noted the importance of having such institutions, noting, 22 out of the country’s 4,000 banks are Black-owned. The numbers of Black banks are decreasing, with current numbers standing in contrast to 1976, when the National Black Bank Foundation reported that there were more than 50 African American-owned banks across the U.S.The Mitchell Family and Industrial BankThe country was in the Great Depression in 1933 when Howard University-educated Jesse Mitchell and a group of friends decided to establish a new bank to serve Black Washingtonians. They took over the former Industrial Bank, with the approval of the federal government and the group proceeded to sell $50,000 in stock to finance the bank.The new bank was called the Industrial Bank of Washington and received its certificate of incorporation from the U.S. Treasury Department on August 13, 1934. The bank opened its doors on August 20, 1934, with six employees and $192,000 in assets.
Jesse Mitchell served as president of the institution until he stepped aside for his son, the original B. Doyle Mitchell, in late 1954 primarily due to illness. Jesse Mitchell died in March 1955. When B. Doyle Mitchell Sr. became president of the bank in December 1954, it was the only Black bank in the District and the largest of its type in the country with assets totaling $7 million.Upon the death of his father in 1993, Mitchell Jr. assumed the helm of president and his sister, Patricia Mitchell, became executive vice president.Company officials report that Industrial presently has over half a billion dollars in assets, over 140 employees, branches in the District, Prince George’s County, Maryland, Newark, New Jersey, the Harlem neighborhood in New York City and an Innovation Campus in Largo, Maryland.Industrial Bank’s ImpactJoel Caston is a strong supporter and customer of Industrial Bank. 
Caston received widespread attention when he was elected as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in 2021 while a resident of the D.C. Jail, the only elected official in the country to be incarcerated.While Caston’s political career captured headlines, what many people don’t know about is his financial acumen. Caston said he was already studying and teaching his fellow residents at the jail about financial literacy, but Industrial’s program complemented his efforts.“I really liked how relation-able the staff who came to the facility were,” Caston, 48, said. “They were good-spirited individuals who were relatable to incarcerated people. They taught residents the importance of setting up a checking and savings account at a bank. It was a program.”Caston said Industrial Bank celebrated the program participants and has continued their support of formerly incarcerated individuals once released. “When the program was completed, they treated us to a nice dinner and Doyle and Patricia Mitchell attended. Industrial’s program has helped several residents get started financially when they were released.”
Mitchell on 90 YearsMitchell said he didn’t want to do a “traditional and stuffy” event, but an affair where people could celebrate the success of Industrial Bank. The event was also a fundraiser for Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Northwest, D.C. and a salute to Cynthia Mitchell, his mother who taught in District public schools for 34 years.Mitchell is optimistic about the future of Industrial Bank.Next steps, Mitchell said, include: “More digitization, which will continue to keep pace with the ever-evolving consumer’s desire to access financial services the way they choose.”

Source: Washington Informer

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