Skip to Content
Audio Banking Down
Our Audio banking system is currently down. We are working diligently to resolve these issues as soon as possible. Please use Mobile and Online banking to access your account. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Seaway Bank: A Legacy of Empowerment


Seaway Bank
at a Glance

Original Name: 
Seaway National Bank of Chicago

Founders: 
Ernest T. Collins
Moses J. Proffitt
local business men and women

Year Founded:
1965

Year of Merger with Self-Help Federal Credit Union:
2017

Original Founding Location: 
Chicago, Illinois (South Side)

This is the story of Seaway, a division of Self-Help Federal Credit Union. Seaway is a South Side Chicago financial institution that at its height rose to become America’s largest Black-owned bank. Beginning with its 1960s social justice and economic equality underpinnings, we trace Seaway Bank’s 52-year history through first-hand accounts, archival images, contemporary footage and narration. In doing so, we honor the achievements of an institution that invested in—and empowered—communities of Black people, making a lasting name for itself in the process.

 

Photo Gallery