On Friday Seaway Bank and Trust Co., the largest Black-owned bank in the Midwest, opened a new branch in the Bronzeville community on the South Side.
On Friday Seaway Bank and Trust Co., the largest Black-owned bank in the Midwest, opened a new branch in the Bronzeville community on the South Side.
The financial institution is now located at the historic Supreme Life Building, 3501 S. King Drive.
"Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company was actually the first northern Black-owned insurance company, and in its heyday was one of only a few places where African Americans could secure white-collar jobs. We’re proud to continue that important heritage by bringing the array of financial services that Seaway offers to Bronzeville," said Walter Grady, president and CEO of Seaway Bank
Real estate mogul Elzie Higginbottom, founder and CEO of East Lake Management and Development Corp., now owns the building.
Grady said he did not know Higginbottom owned the building prior to deciding to open a branch there. And while the branch may be new, he added that Seaway is no stranger to the Bronzeville community.
"We at Seaway don’t feel like we’re a new tenant at our newest location. We feel that we’ve been welcomed home," Grady said. "Washington Mutual Bank previously occupied the space at Bronzeville and we were already looking at the various locations they closed to see if it would be a good fit for us."
Grady said the bank’s search for a new branch location did include looking at sites on the West Side.
"We did attempted to purchase a site on the West Side but another bank ended up getting the location," he explained.
Other Seaway locations include three additional South Side branches, a branch at O’Hare International Airport and one in Waukegan.
The last time Seaway Bank opened a new branch was two years ago when it opened one at 11116 S. Michigan Ave. in the Roseland community.
Seaway Bank is a full-service commercial bank founded in 1965 as Seaway National Bank of Chicago. The founders a group of local businessmen sold shares door-to-door throughout the community to raise the $1 million in capital needed to secure the federal charter.
In 2007, the bank converted to a state charter and was renamed Seaway Bank and Trust Company.
It is one of four Black-owned banks in Chicago. The other three are Illinois Service Federal, Highland Community Bank and Covenant Bank.
As of August 31, Seaway had $385 million in assets.
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