xecon.dev / 773 · Bronzeville / Xcelerators / Jesse Binga

Xcelerator · Person

Jesse Binga

Binga State Bank

Banking, Real Estate Development

Signal

Region
Bronzeville
Industry
Banking, Real Estate Development
Source file
profiles/bronzeville_business_people.md:263
Status
published

Economic impact

Founded the Binga Bank in Chicago's Bronzeville neighbourhood in 1908, later rechartered as Binga State Bank in 1921. By 1929, the bank held approximately US$1.4 million in deposits and had financed mortgages for more than 1,200 Black families seeking to purchase homes on Chicago's South Side, per the bank's published statements and reporting in the Chicago Defender. Binga also developed real estate on the South Side, owning approximately 1,200 rental units at his peak, providing housing supply in neighbourhoods where restrictive covenants prevented Black Chicagoans from purchasing homes elsewhere in the city. The bank failed in 1930 amid the Great Depression and accusations of fraud for which Binga was later convicted, then pardoned.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia
  2. Chicagotribute
  3. Blockclubchicago
Last updated: 5/27/2026 by xecon desk corrections@xecon.dev