Timeline Stories

Today, Citizens Bank is a privately owned company with approximately $100 million in assets. The bank is a Certified Development Financial Institution (CDFI) – a certification given to mission-driven financial institutions dedicated to expanding economic opportunity to economically disadvantaged individuals…

The bank opens its Memphis branch. In the 2007 financial crisis, the Black community lost 50% of its wealth. Citizens was able to continue to invest in Black communities and stabilize operations to weather the storm.

The bank reaches $5M in deposits and becomes a central presence in the North Nashville community during the Civil Rights Movement. As the neighborhood faces blight from a contentious interstate development, Citizens continues to invest in the redevelopment of Nashville’s…

Citizens survives the Great Depression and in 1946 reaches $1M in capital and deposits. The bank becomes a leader in investing in the growth of historically Black faith-based and nonprofit organizations.

The One Cent Savings Bank, now Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, became the first minority-owned bank in Tennessee. Citizen’s Bank was founded on the principal of creating opportunities for African Americans to build wealth and economic security.On January 16,…