The Lake Street branch of First Independence Bank—located just two blocks away from South—may just look like a regular bank to some, but it has a lot more inside to offer than your standard checkings and savings. The Detroit-based company now has two branches in the Twin Cities area as well, making it Minnesota’s first Black-owned Minority Deposit Institution. Damon Jenkins, a South High graduate, is the senior vice president and Twin Cities regional market president of First Independence, putting him in charge of the bank’s operations in the South community and the rest of the state.
Jenkins grew up right off of Chicago Ave and Lake St and has been tied to the South Minneapolis community for over 30 years. “So really, I’m a Southsider,” expressed Jenkins. “It was exciting to hear once I got the opportunity to open up the first Black-owned bank here that we were opening a location right down the street from South. It gave me the opportunity to really serve my community specifically in a different capacity.”
Jenkins said that he wants the branch to be an open space for community members, including South students, to ask questions and form connections. “We’re a community bank for South, so our doors are open, even if you just want to come in and inquire,” said Jenkins. “One of the reasons that we put ourselves on that corridor is we want to be a beacon of hope for that community. Regardless of if you have an account with us, or a relationship, it’s still your bank. We want to be that connector; we want to be that resource hub.”
A self-described “accidental banker,” Jenkins originally intended to pursue a career in social work while attending the University of Minnesota. After graduating—the first in his family to do so—Jenkins started working at a debt services company as a manager. Through this role, he gained an interest in finance and experience in leadership. Around 2007, Jenkins was looking for a career change and was offered a position at US Bank as a branch manager despite having no prior banking experience. “I’ll tell you,” said Jenkins, “that’s probably not your traditional path to go into banking and I probably wouldn’t recommend that, but it was a way for me to really tap into that industry and start the process of really serving at a capacity that benefited the community.”
Jenkins has still maintained his roots in social work through his banking career by putting an emphasis on making banking and financial literacy as accessible as possible. “What we find, especially and particularly in communities of color, is that banking and finance isn’t a part of those early-on [family] conversations,” said Jenkins. “And what typically happens is those specific communities don’t really learn about it until you make mistakes. Or you miss the opportunity to capitalize on having a true banking relationship because you don’t understand.”
“Banking and financial literacy wasn’t a part of my dinner table conversation,” Jenkins recalled about his time growing up. “Money was so tight—because I grew up poor—that there were negative attributes associated with money because we just never had enough to go around. As my mom used to say, she had to rob Peter to pay Paul.” This meant that he wasn’t taught important financial skills and wasn’t able to have conversations about how to manage money and plan for the future. “I wish I would have had the information, resources, knowledge, coaching and accountability to save money,” added Jenkins. “That’s what drives me to be in this seat to really have these conversations with communities or to put the bank in a position where we can create resources so that people can get these conversations earlier.”
In order to get this important financial knowledge out into the community, Jenkins says First Independence is being loud. “We’re really trying to get the word out and make it comfortable; you have to meet people where they’re at,” shared Jenkins. “Most folks are not going to come pull on that door—even though you pass it on your way to school—and be like, ‘let me just come in,’ so we have to collaborate.”
Jenkins said First Independence’s goal is to form a partnership with their customers. “A true relationship that’s not transactional,” described Jenkins. “It’s beyond the checking account. It’s about, ‘how do we form a relationship so you can find value in this checking account and help you identify a financial path?’” Jenkins encourages South students and members of the community to visit First Independence if they are seeking financial guidance, regardless of if they are a customer or not.
