First Black-owned Atlanta-based bank to join FDIC celebrates it’s legacy

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) -Headquartered in Atlanta, Citizens Trust Bank has been serving its community since 1921.

“Our founding fathers gave us a vision, a vision that is still relevant 100 years later,” said Cynthia N. Day, president and CEO of Citizens Trust Bank.

As the country celebrates Black History Month, the bank is celebrating its own legacy as a bank that gives opportunities to underserved communities in metro Atlanta and beyond. It is also the first Black-owned bank to become a member of the FDIC. Day highlighted the goal of the bank’s founders.

“The vision they gave us was a vision for economic equality and empowerment for communities of color,” said Day.

The bank also is highlighting its partnership with Operation Hope’s HOPE Inside, a free program offering financial education to help people reduce debt, raise credit scores, and attain homeownership, the American dream.

“You don’t have to talk about Black history, you’re sitting in it,” said John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation HOPE at a celebration inside the bank’s Stonecrest branch.

Bank officials said the bank’s purpose is not only to provide daily banking services, but to serve as a beacon of hope for all, and more importantly teach people how to obtain wealth, and how to keep it.

“You can be temporarily rich and permanently broke. We know how to hustle, we are not lazy,” said Bryant.

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