ImpactAlpha, Aug. 27 – The joining of the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.-based community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, will create the largest Black-led depository institution in the U.S., with more than $1 billion in assets under management and $850 million in deposits.
“The work of CDFIs has never been more urgent and necessary,” said City First Bank’s Brian Argrett, who will become vice chair and CEO of the new institution. The merger, he added, demonstrates that “thriving urban neighborhoods are viable markets that require a dedicated focus, long-term commitment and critical access to capital.”
Broadway Financial was founded in 1946 by black civic leaders, and is the last Black-owned bank on the west coast. It fended off a recent hostile takeover from Steven Sugarman, the CEO of The Capital Corps, a California-based CDFI. Broadway’s Wayne-Kent Bradshaw will chair the new entity, which will go by City First Bank.
City First, founded in 1998, is Washington DC’s first CDFI bank. The two CDFIs have lent more than $1 billion in aggregate since 2015. The merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.
