{"id":5261,"date":"2026-07-23T17:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=5261"},"modified":"2026-07-23T17:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T17:37:25","slug":"after-119-years-durhams-black-owned-bank-to-be-sold-and-renamed-in-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=5261","title":{"rendered":"After 119 years, Durham\u2019s Black-owned bank to be sold and renamed in merger"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A historic Black-owned bank in Durham plans to take a new name as it merges with another majority minority-run financial institution.<\/p>\n

Read more Shrimp from 22 NC restaurants were tested. Only half served \u2018wild-caught\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

M&F Bank announced Wednesday it will become part of South Carolina\u2019s Optus Bank in a deal that is expected to pay M&F shareholders more than $105 million. M&F CEO James Sills III will become CEO of the new combined entity.<\/p>\n

The companies said their agreement will become official by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval. M&F\u2019s stock rose 60% on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe share a common mission, aligned values, and a steadfast commitment to our customers and communities,\u201d Sills said in a public statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Established in 1907, M&F Bank (named Mechanics and Farmers Bank until 2015) is the second-oldest Black-owned bank in the country. It was a fixture of downtown Durham\u2019s Black Wall Street neighborhood in the early 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

The bank recorded its first annual net loss in 2016 but has raised its profits and asset holdings over the last decade. Triangle companies like Pendo and Global Data Consortium deposited millions<\/a> following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 to support the bank\u2019s mission to reduce the racial wealth gap. And in 2024, M&F partnered with nCino, a bank software company in Wilmington, to streamline<\/a> its underwriting process.<\/p>\n

Today, M&F has seven branches across North Carolina, including two each in Raleigh and Durham, as well as one each in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Greensboro. It ended March with assets totaling nearly $490 million, making it the 20th-largest state-chartered bank in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

M&F branches will retain their current name for two years before operating as Optus.<\/p>\n

Originally named Victory Savings Bank, Optus was founded in 1921 and was South Carolina\u2019s first Black-owned bank.<\/p>\n

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M&F and Optus Bank are both Minority Depository Institutions<\/a> \u2014 a designation the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. gives to banks and credit unions where minority individuals own at least 51% of voting stock or where minorities hold a majority of the board seats and the institution primarily serves minority communities. MDIs are eligible for specific training and support programs from the federal government.<\/p>\n

M&F and Optus are also Community Development Financial Institutions that focus on lower-income and underserved communities. Last year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget withheld grant money from CDFIs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPast awards may have made race a determinant of access to loan programs,\u201d OMB noted in the White House\u2019s 2026 discretionary budget proposals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In an interview last summer<\/a> with The News & Observer, Sills addressed this disruption. \u201cWe\u2019re still going to do what we\u2019ve been doing for 118 years, but (CDFI) does help us continue to do the lending to serve the communities that we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email Thursday to The N&O, Sills said M&F has not received any CDFI funds in 2026.<\/p>\n

Beyond federal funding, Sills listed larger bank competition, employee retention, and technology adaptation as three challenges his smaller bank faced. He also discussed what financial institutions like M&F excel at.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody is turned down for a loan, we tell them why they were turned down for the loan and how they can improve upon their financial situation and come back to us in 12 months, if you do these things,\u201d he said. \u201cCommunity banks do that really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more These 2 NC universities rank among the best in the US for value<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 23, 2026 at 9:41 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M&F Bank in Durham, North Carolina to be acquired by South Carolina\u2019s Optus Bank in merger of Minority Depository Institutions, with James Sills staying CEO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter 119 years, Durham\u2019s Black-owned bank to be sold and renamed in merger - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=5261\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After 119 years, Durham\u2019s Black-owned bank to be sold and renamed in merger - 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