• Mission
• History

Mission

The mission of Seaway Bancshares, Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Seaway Bank and Trust Company, is to perform as a premier financial institution providing a broad range of financial services to the communities it serves within the Chicagoland market area.

History

Seaway Bank and Trust Company is a full-service commercial bank that emphasizes quality service and community commitment. Established in 1965 as Seaway National Bank of Chicago, it was created to counter discriminatory lending practices on Chicago's South Side. The founders, a group of local businessmen, sold shares door to door throughout the community to raise the $1,000,000 in capital needed to secure the Federal charter. By the end of its first year, Seaway's assets had climbed to over $5,000,000, and the bank has grown steadily over the years.

Today, we are proud to be recognized as:

• the largest Black-owned bank in the Midwest (4th largest in the nation)
• one of only a few minority-owned banks with corporate trust services
• the only minority-owned bank with depository and foreign currency exchange operations
      at a major city airport (O'Hare)

At year end 2007, Seaway had more than $340,000,000 in assets and 250 employees (80% are community residents).

We support more than 200 churches, schools, and community groups through charitable donations, and thanks to our partnerships with leading corporations, we are able to reinvest in our family of customers and local businesses. Our mission remains to help minority professionals and entrepreneurs obtain the financial assistance they need and to be responsive to the credit needs of our community.

1965 Seaway opened for business on January 2nd in a rented storefront at 8555 S. Cottage Grove Avenue. Permanent Main Bank facility at 645 E. 87th Street was opened on November 18th.

1969 A second floor was added to Main Bank facility.

1972 A second (East) facility opened at 825 E. 87th Street.

1977 Seaway opened the first 7-day facility in Chicago at Jewel Grand Bazaar, 87th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94).

1980 Walter E. Grady appointed President and CEO of Seaway Bank and Trust Company.

1982 Seaway founder Ernest Collins retired and ownership was passed to current Chairman Jacoby Dickens.

1983 Seaway acquired Union National Bank (now Seaway's South Facility) and became the largest Black-owned bank in the country. Bank hosted its first Annual Art Fair.

1990 A fourth (West) facility opened at 87th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94).

1992 Seaway established a Corporate Trust Department to serve public and corporate debt market.

1994 Seaway established the Seaway Community Development Corporation to rebuild neighborhoods.

1997 A new facility opened in University Park (operated until 1999).

1998 Seaway became the first Black-owned bank to offer online banking.

2000 Seaway moved bookkeeping and data processing operations to a renovated facility on 87th Street. Seaway began Foreign Currency Exchange services in Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport, expanding into all terminals the following year.

2001 Seaway became a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) under the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

2002 Seaway received an "outstanding" CRA rating from bank regulators and introduced a foreign currency facility at Chicago Midway Airport to accommodate the addition of international flights.

2004 Seaway's new Loan Production Office opened at 2835 Belvidere Road in Waukegan, Illinois.

Seaway Bank and Trust Company is an FDIC Member, an Equal Housing Lender, and an Equal Opportunity Employer. Seaway Bancshares, Inc. is the bank's Holding Company.