The Bank Slate

INSIGHTS INTO THE BANKING INDUSTRY

MLS to borrow $25M from group of Black-owned banks

Major League Soccer will borrow $25 million from a group of Black-owned banks. 


The league said in a press release Thursday that the lending group includes Carver Bancorp in New York and Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta. The loan was facilitated by the National Black Bank Foundation (NBBF), a nonprofit. 

“Major League Soccer’s partnership with the National Black Bank Foundation is a tangible step in the efforts to close the racial economic gap in the United States, and it’s the right business decision for us,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in the release. 

“As a league, we continue to increase our initiatives in support of racial justice,” Garber added. “This transaction … is an important measure, and it is our hope this will raise awareness of the importance of Black-owned banks and their impact on the economy.” 

“Major League Soccer has raised the bar for corporate America with this transformative partnership,” Ashley Bell, the NBBF’s co-founder and general counsel, said in the release. 

“If other leagues and major corporations follow the MLS model, lives of Black families all across this country will change for the better because their local Black bank will have the capital resources to approve historic numbers of home and small business loans,” Bell added.

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