ST. LOUIS-St. Louis Community CU has reached an agreement with Central Bank of Kansas City engineered by the local chapter of the NAACP to buy the former Gateway Bank branch, which was the first and only minority-owned-and-managed financial institution in St. Louis for many years.
The $230-million, community-chartered CU plans to raze the 47-year-old building and replace it with a new state-of-the-art facility to be known as the "Gateway Branch" and transfer as many of the neighborhood's customers to credit union membership, according to Michael O'Brien, senior vice president of marketing for the credit union.
In an unusual move, credit union staffers have been working at the branch for the past few weeks to enlist members. "It just fits us really well, any way you look at it," O'Brien told Credit Union Journal.
The deal was crafted when Stifel Bank & Trust and the NAACP brought Central Bank, which acquired the failed Gateway Bank in 2009, together with St. Louis Community CU to work out an agreement that allows the sale of the property and provides a way for the bank's customers to open accounts with SLCCU. St. Louis-based Stifel has also agreed to make a bridge loan to SLCCU to assist in the purchase of the property.
Depositors at the Gateway branch have all received letters from the CEO of both institutions urging them to join the credit union, the one-time St. Louis Teachers CU.
Gateway Bank was established in 1965 as the first minority-owned financial institution in St. Louis. The founder, C. W. Gates and his family were committed to serving the African-American community.
"This is a great day for our community," said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the NAACP St. Louis City. "Through the hard work and generous efforts of local community leaders, Stifel Bank and the credit union, we are moving forward with a plan to ensure that African-Americans in North St. Louis will have a place they can bank for years to come."
