Industrial Bank President and CEO B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr. cannot walk into one of the nearly century-old bank’s branches without getting buttonholed by a customer. A tall elegantly dressed man in his early sixties, he pauses with each one. He is clearly a man who loves his work.

“Customers were the ones who built the bank,” said Mitchell, Jr. “We are still there for the folks who don’t feel comfortable at larger commercial banks.” “There is something special about coming into our branches. We really care about people,” he added.

“They have treated me very nice and are willing to help you,” said Veronica Saunders, an eighty-something senior who has banked with Industrial for over 50 years.

Industrial Bank (www.industrial-bank.com) is woven into the fabric of U Street, known as the Black Broadway. Joe Louis, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole and Ethel Waters numbered among its customers. Its deep community roots allowed it to survive and thrive despite the travails of the 1968 Riots and the construction of the Green Line.

A Black Family Business

In the midst of the Great Depression’s banking crisis, Jesse Mitchell, a Howard-educated attorney, saw opportunity. Black DC residents struggled to find access to credit and a safe place to entrust their life’s savings. In 1933, Mitchell and his friends agreed to create a new bank for Black Americans.

“My grandfather saw the need for a bank that would lend Black people money,” said Mitchell, Jr.

It took an act of Congress, but by the end of that year the federal government approved their plan. The Black community embraced the scheme. By April 1, 1934, Jesse Mitchell and his partners had sold 95% of the initial $50,000 stock offering.

On August 13, 1934, the US Treasury chartered the new bank known as the Industrial Bank of Washington. Later that month, the institution opened its doors with six employees and $192,000 in assets at 2006 11th St. NW, in the heart of Black Broadway. Mitchell became the bank’s first president, serving until his death in 1955.

By the time the founder’s son B. Doyle Mitchell, Sr. took over Industrial Bank in 1954, it had become the largest Black-owned bank in the country, with assets totaling $7 million. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, he started his career at the bank as an entry-level bookkeeper, working his way up under his father’s tutelage.

As president, Mitchell added branches at 4812 Georgia Ave. NW in 1962 and Deanwood in 1966. This expanded the institution’s customer base. He also joined other minority financial institutions in collectively providing loans to major corporations, such as Disney. At the age of 30, B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr. took over the bank in 1993 after his father’s death.

At the time, Mitchell, Jr. was vice president of commercial lending. Much like his father, he began working at the bank at age 16, answering the phones and riding shotgun with the drivers picking up receipts from its branches. While attending Rutgers University, he continued to work there during the summer.

Mitchell, Jr. had always dreamed of being an architect or musician. He served as road manager for his best friend’s band, who he coincidentally met in the bank’s mailroom. An undergraduate economics class changed his perspective. “We could do well by doing good,” he realized.

Mitchell, Jr. continued Industrial Bank’s growth. He expanded first to Prince George’s County and later to Harlem, NY and Newark, NJ.

Customer Oriented, Full-Service Banking

Today, Industrial Bank boasts over half a billion dollars in assets. The bank has nine branches in DC, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. It employs over 140 people. It provides retail banking services in person and also online to roughly roughly 15,000 account holders and 14,000 households in more than 40 states, Mitchell, Jr. said, many of whom are multigenerational.

“We are competitive. You will get personalized service and over time you will feel like family,” Mitchell, Jr. observed.

Industrial Bank is a full service commercial and residential lender. “We love creating first time home buyers,” Mitchell, Jr. explained. The bank works closely with the city and federal government to secure down payments and financing, he said.

According to the bank president, small business loans make up about 20% of the bank’s lending. Industrial partners closely with the federal Small Business Administration to make credit available to entrepreneurs, he added. “If you are a small business, it’s important you know your banker,” Mitchell, Jr. said.

Commercial real estate constitutes the majority of the bank’s lending. The focus is on mixed use developments and owner-occupied office space. Mitchell, Jr. is proud of the fact that the bank is also the lender of choice for many DC Black religious institutions, since it is the last Black-owned bank in the city.

“We like putting down roots. We are part of the community,” Mitchell, Jr. stated. It is its close integration with DC’s Black community that is largely responsible for the bank’s success. It is a tradition Mitchell, Jr. embraces in each conversation with his customers.

“I’ve always had a heart for helping people like my parents did,” Mitchell, Jr. said.

To learn more about Industrial Bank, visit www.industrial-bank.com. u