HOUSTON — Texas' only Black-owned bank is hoping to deliver a positive change in underserved communities after receiving a $50 million investment.
Unity Bank, located in Houston’s Third Ward, got the investment from Baker Hughes and J.P. Morgan’s Empower share class.
“We have a responsibility to improve and support the communities in which we live and work,” said Baker Hughes Chief Financial Officer Nancy Buese. “As part of our commitment to increase supplier diversity and create lasting and sustainable change, this investment will enable Unity Bank to increase its offerings and drive meaningful impact within the communities it serves.”
Black-owned banks have been on the decline in recent years. The investment, given by Baker Hughes, was given to keep Unity Bank around for many years to come.
“It’s going to help,” said Georgia Doyle Provost, a fixture in the Third Ward community and account holder at Unity Bank.
Provost has been with the bank since it was founded in 1963. She recalls during segregation, banks would not even loan $25, much less $25,000, to minorities.
"Man, my husband and I were parked right here waiting til they opened the bank,” Provost said.
Lack of assets compared to larger banks is leading to the decline of minority-owned banks.
“We’re just very grateful to be able to continue our presence and to continue our mission,” Kwame Nkrumah Cain, General Counsel and Head of Strategic Initiatives at Unity Bank said.
Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, along with J.P. Morgan, are seeking to help promote the growth of Black, Hispanic and Latino-owned small businesses to provide equal opportunity for minorities to access business loans, personal loans and more.
“Through our lending, you know through our financial literacy, it has a tangible impact that people all around could definitely see,” Cain said.
For Provost, the investment is a call to action.
“We gotta do better," she said. "We gotta get out here. We gotta market this bank because this bank can grow."
Unity Bank celebrates 60 years in August and is home to around 11,000 banking accounts.