Solvent Savings Bank and Trust was an
African American-owned bank in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, founded in 1906 by
Robert Reed Church. It was the first African American-owned bank to achieve $1 million in assets.
It merged with Fraternal Savings Bank and Trust in 1927, which failed in 1929.
History
Church, inspired to open the bank by
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
's
National Negro Business League
The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was an American organization founded in Boston in 1900 by Booker T. Washington to promote the interests of African-American businesses. The mission and main goal of the National Negro Business League was ...
, was the bank's president.
M. L. Clay helped found the bank and served as its vice president.
Other officers included:
Josiah T. Settle
Josiah "Joe" Thomas Settle (September 30, 1850 – August 21, 1915) was a lawyer in Washington, D.C., Sardis, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. He was a part of Howard University's first graduating class in 1872. In 1875, he moved to Mississ ...
, Bert Roddy, T. H. Hayes, and J. W. Sanford. Church's son,
Robert Church Jr. succeeded his father as president after his father resigned in 1912.
Solvent merged with Fraternal Savings Bank and Trust in October 1927.
[ They merged because they were in debt having invested heavily in various business endeavors. The bank's cash reserves were depleted two months later when customers withdrew monies for Christmas. There was then a run on the bank, which caused it to become bankrupt and close, and 28,000 ]depositors
A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below.
...
to lose 90% of their savings.[ Five officers were also involved.]
See also
*Freedman's Savings Bank
The Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, known as the Freedman's Savings Bank, was a private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1865, to collect deposits from the newly emancipated communities. The bank opened 37 branches acro ...
References
Banks based in Tennessee
Banks established in 1906
Bank failures in the United States
Companies based in Memphis, Tennessee
1906 establishments in Tennessee
Defunct banks of the United States
1929 disestablishments in Tennessee
Banks disestablished in 1929
American companies disestablished in 1929
American companies established in 1906
Black-owned companies of the United States
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