NFL Borrows $78 Million in Loans From Minority Banks

The NFL is taking out $78 million in loans from minority and women-focused banks as part of a social justice initiative to diversify the league’s banking partners. NFL sponsor Bank of America worked with the league to select 16 banks to loan money for the program.

Each loan was structured under a three-year term that will provide financial returns to the banks through accrued interest from the NFL. The selected banks span both Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions.

The NFL says its new relationship with the minority-owned banks will “increase investment back into the communities they serve and create broader visibility for the institutions themselves.” 

In 2020, musical artist Alicia Keys partnered with the NFL to launch a $1 billion fund to support Black-owned businesses. The league also announced its first owner diversity report earlier this year, which showed 8% of principal owners and limited partners of NFL teams were people of color, and 38% were women. 

Bank of America and the NFL consulted with the National Black Bank Foundation as part of its new loan program.  “The NFL’s decision to look for solutions beyond Wall Street and to the centers of hope along Main Street and MLK Jr. Drives will move the needle as others follow their lead,” NBBF co-founder Ashley Bell said in a statement.

Below is a complete list of the 16 banks that will lend money to the NFL.

• Adelphi Bank – Columbus, OH (Black or African American owned)
• Agility Bank, N.A. – Houston, TX (Women-owned and led)
• Asian Bank – Philadelphia, PA  (Asian or Pacific Islander American owned)
• Central Bank of Kansas City – Kansas City, MO 
• Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company – Nashville, TN (Black or African American owned)
• Citizens Trust Bank – Atlanta, GA (Black or African American owned)
• City First Bank, National Association – Washington D.C. (Board is majority African American)
• First Independence Bank – Detroit, MI (Black or African American owned)
• FWBank, an Illinois Banking Institution – Chicago, IL (Women-owned)
• Industrial Bank – Washington D.C. (Black or African American owned)
• Mechanics and Farmers Bank – Durham, NC (Black or African American owned)
• Optus Bank – Columbia, SC (MDI and CDFI, Black or African American owned)
• Ponce Bank – The Bronx, NY (Board majority is Hispanic American)
• Southern Bancorp Bank – Arkadelphia, AR
• Texas National Bank – Mercedes, TX (Hispanic American owned)
• Unity National Bank of Houston – Houston, TX (Black or African American owned