The Women's Bank Records

Collection

Identifier: WH2365

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Collection contains reports, memos, meeting agendas and minutes, clippings, photographs, and ephemera related to The Women's Bank of Denver, Colorado

Dates

1976-1997

Creator

Davis, Wendy. (Person)
The Women's Bank (Denver, Colo.) (Organization)

Language of Materials

Material is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Copyright

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

In 1976, a group of ten women and one man known as The Women's Association submitted an application for permission to open The Women's Bank. The bank's primary goal was to serve women's banking needs, at a time where many banks displayed discriminatory practices towards them. While focused on women, the bank served a clientele of all genders. Receiving a charter in 1977, The Women's Bank opened its doors on July 14, 1978, officially becoming the second nationally chartered such bank in the country (Washington, DC held the first). By September 1980, the Women's Bank formed the Equitable Bank Holding Company with the bank as a subsidiary of the company. By 1982, the Women's Bank's boasted $20 million in deposits and low loan portfolio delinquency (under 1%, while the nationwide rate was 2.5%). The bank was bought in 1994 by investors and continued under the same officers until it was closed in 1995.

The original founding individuals were: Wendy W. Davis, Loretta Norgren, Leslie Friedman Davis, Betty Sue Freedman, Beverely A. (Martinez) Grall, Barbara Grall, Barbara Welch Sudler, Edna Mosley, Michael Feinstein, Carol Green, and Judith Foster.