Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Monday, March 3rd. Today on Forbes, inside the largest

black-owned bank in America. Nearly 20 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans,

the scars are still visible. In the New Orleans east section of the city, about 20 minutes

from the French corridor,

miles of brown grass grow through the concrete of what was once the Lake Forest Plaza Mall,

which boasted the state's first food court, and more improbably in the south, its first ice skating rink.

For many New Orleans, including Alden MacDonald Jr., the 81-year-old CEO of Liberty Bank,

this roughly 1.2 million square feet of vacant land is also a haunting reminder of a once-vibrant

life. Pointing to one of the many absent buildings, McDonald says, quote,

over there was a 12-screen movie theater. Nearby, a lows that residents relied on to

rebuild their homes has become a goodwill center, but amidst the buildings with shattered windows

and colorful graffiti is a beacon of hope. The headquarters for McDonald's Liberty Bank,

the largest black-owned bank in America.

McDonald tells Forbes, quote, we could do everything any bank can do in America and do it better.

The only problem McDonald adds is Black America. He says, quote, they don't have confidence in us.

That's our biggest challenge today. Black people don't feel that we could do what they need us for. Founded in 1972, Liberty has grown from $2 million in assets to more than $1 billion.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, the bank has $948 million in deposits, making it the largest

bank for black Americans by asset size. Liberty serves 11 states, including Illinois, Michigan,

Texas, and Tennessee, and McDonald notes proudly, has been profitable for 47 of its 52 years.

The bank has achieved this by focusing on lending to underserved communities

and, like all banks, generating revenue from fees and interest.

McDonald says, quote,

...