History 

 
1966-69 
• Ronald Grzywinski was president of Chicago’s Hyde Park Bank, where he created a successful urban development division focused on lending to minority entrepreneurs. Milton Davis, Jim Fletcher and Mary Houghton worked with him in this unique program.

1969 
• Ron left Hyde Park Bank to join the Adlai Stevenson Institute at the University of Chicago where he developed the initial concept for the Illinois Neighborhood Development Corporation (INDC; now called ShoreBank Corporation). Milton, Jim, Mary and Michael Bennett (a community organizer and later an INDC employee) collaborated closely with him; Al Raby, Stan Hallett, Bob Helman and Dennis Chookaszian also participated.

1972 
• Ron began raising capital to purchase a bank for INDC’s centerpiece.  He raised $800,000 from two individuals, two church groups, three foundations, and himself.
• Management at South Shore National Bank decided to move out of Chicago’s South Shore community as the neighborhood underwent racial change in the 1960s; in the five proceeding years, the bank’s deposits dropped from $80 million to $42 million.
• South Shore residents, led by South Shore Commission president Bob Keeley, organized to prevent South Shore National Bank from moving.  The regulator for the South Shore National bank, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, agreed with the residents and denied the bank’s owners permission to relocate the bank.

1973 
• With a focus on profitably investing in community development activities, INDC acquired South Shore National Bank (now called ShoreBank) for $3.2 million, of which $2.4 million was borrowed from American National Bank.
• Milton Davis and Mary Houghton left Hyde Park Bank and joined the South Shore National Bank staff.
 
1974 
• The bank’s deposit growth resumed.  The bank launched major community confidence initiatives to gain the trust of the neighborhood.  The bank’s Resident Advisory Board, with representatives from each area council, began its five or six years of meetings.

1975 
• Profitable bank operations were restored, retail and development deposits increased, and development loan activity accelerated.  A newsletter, The Bread Rapper (replaced by Village Connections in 1996), was first issued.

1976 
• The bank completed facility changes begun in 1973.  It opened a motor bank at 71st and Bennett and completed a parking lot on the east side of Jeffery at 70th Street.
• The Bank instituted a direct-deposit service for Social Security and other government checks; it installed a new computerized central information system for customer bank accounts.
• At a meeting in Estes Park, Colorado, Ron Grzywinski suggest to a Senate Banking Committee staff member that legislation be introduced to require all banks to invest in their community service areas.

1977 
• INDC raised additional capital and obtained authorization from the Federal Reserve Board to establish the City Lands Corp. (now ShoreBank Development) as a for-profit real estate development company, and The Neighborhood Institute (now called ShoreBank Neighborhood Institute, and soon to become ShoreBank Enterprise) as a non-profit organization providing tenant advocacy, education, job training and employee placement services.
• Ron Grzywinski testifies before Congress in favor of the Community Reinvestment Act.
 
1978 
• INDC established The Neighborhood Fund (now called ShoreBank Capital) to bridge the financing gap for minority entrepreneurs by using subordinated debt and equity investments.
• Jim Fletcher left Hyde Park Bank to become president of The Neighborhood Fund and The Neighborhood Institute.
• City Lands and The Neighborhood Institute began operating.
• After converting to an Illinois state bank, “National” was dropped from the name of the bank.

1979 
• City Lands rehabilitated an abandoned 24-unit building and converted it into condominium units selling for $27,500-$36,500 per unit.  However, as the units became available just as interest rates jumped to 15%, City Lands realized major losses. 
• The bank converted an adjoining hotel on 71st just west of Jeffery into additional office space for itself and affiliates.  It rented the third floor to The Neighborhood Fund, a travel agency, law office, insurance agency and community radio station.
• The Neighborhood Institute opened the Career Education and Employment Center, which provided job training and placement services for residents.

1980
• The bank focused on better serving business customers and established a Commercial Banking Center to provide centralized servicing of all business accounts; expanded the Brink’s teller area; and created a Business Development unit to consult with small and middle-market companies to meet their banking needs.
• The bank became a member of the U.S. Small Business Association’s (SBA) “Preferred Lenders Program” offering expedited review and decisions on SBA loan applications.
• The bank’s multi-family mortgage and rehabilitation lending activity increased by 55% in spite of high prevailing interest rates.

1981 
• The bank became a “Certified Lender” of the SBA, one of four such lenders in Chicago.
• City Lands completed The Parkways, a 20-building 446-unit rehabilitation project on 67th Street between Stony Island and Jeffery.  The Parkways was developed by a partnership between City Lands, First Chicago Neighborhood Development Corporation and RESCORP.
 
1982
• The Neighborhood Institute completed its first real estate development project -- a 22 unit low income housing cooperative where prospective owners used “sweat equity” instead of down payments.

1983 
• INDC signed its first consulting contract in Bangladesh where it advised Grameen Bank and its donors.

1984 
• The bank’s profitability, 20.1% return on equity, reached the average return attained by banks of similar size.
• It disbursed $695,000 in loans to 39 not-for-profit organizations as part of a $4.7 million Energy Retrofit Program operated jointly by the Amoco Neighborhood Development Corporation and the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
• The bank was designated by the SBA as a clearinghouse to process other banks’ SBA loan applications.
• The bank opened its newly renovated main lobby, including new teller stations and a Financial Service Center.
• Arkansas’ governor Bill Clinton and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation invited INDC to explore the feasibility of creating a rural development bank in Arkansas.

1985 
• INDC expanded into Austin, the city’s largest defined neighborhood, in the West Side of Chicago.
• Then Illinois Governor James R. Thompson recognized INDC for its active role in education lending in Illinois--both in making student loans and in providing a line of credit to the Illinois State Scholarship Commission.

1986
• INDC changed its name to ShoreBank Corporation.
• City Lands and The Neighborhood Institute began operating in Austin.

1987 
• South Shore Bank opened its first branch (South Shore Bank of Austin), focusing on mortgages and home improvement lending.  The branch was located in a rented building on the northern border of the Austin neighborhood.
• South Shore Bank also expanded its lending area for rehabbers to two neighborhoods near South Shore (Chatham and Woodlawn).
• On a consulting basis, Shorebank organized Southern Development Bancorporation, a new bank holding company in Arkansas.  It was capitalized at $9 million by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and others.
• Shorebank Corporation acquired Charles Rial & Associates, a Chicago-based consulting firm, and re-named it Shorebank Advisory Services (SAS).  SAS advised other institutions in non-conventional approaches to persistent development problems.

1988 
• Southern Development Bancorporation acquired the Elk Horn Bank and Trust Company in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
• Southern Development established Opportunity Lands (a real estate development company), and Arkansas Enterprise Group (a non-profit economic development company).
• Ron Grzywinski wins the Yale School of Organization and Management’s Medal for Entrepreneurial Excellence

1989
• Southern Development Bancorporation operated profitably during its full operating year.
• South Shore Bank moved into its newly renovated Austin branch building, located in the southern part of the neighborhood.

1990 
• South Shore Bank began administering a small business loan program in Poland in cooperation with the Polish/American Enterprise Fund to finance small, privately held businesses.
• Under a long term consulting contract, ShoreBank worked with Douglass Bank, the oldest minority-owned bank west of the Mississippi River, to strengthen management, reactivate lending and restore bank profitability.
• City Lands redeveloped the corner opposite the bank’s headquarters into the Jeffery Plaza Shopping Center.

1991 
• ShoreBank Corporation and Northern Michigan University created Northern Economic Initiatives Corporation (now called Northern Initiatives) to provide business development assistance and micro-enterprise loan programs in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

1992
• ShoreBank established North Coast BIDCO (now part of ShoreBank Capital) to originate flexible secondary financing and provide management assistance to local businesses.
• ShoreBank established the Austin Labor Force Intermediary and a new division within The Neighborhood Institute called ShoreBank Enterprise to develop a comprehensive employment strategy for the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. 

1993 
• South Shore Bank concluded its contract with the Polish-American Enterprise Fund.
• ShoreBank began working with Ecotrust, a non-profit environmental organization with a focus on the coastal temperate rain forests found in the Pacific Northwest.
• ShoreBank raised $8 million in new non-voting common equity strengthening its overall financial position.

1994 
• South Shore Bank began marketing EcoDeposits to support anticipated conservation-based development efforts in the Pacific Northwest.
• In conjunction with the City of Cleveland, local corporations and foundations, ShoreBank established Cleveland Development Bancorporation (now called ShoreBank Cleveland).
• Cleveland Development Bancorporation created Shore Bank & Trust (now called ShoreBank) and Cleveland Enterprise Group (now ShoreBank Enterprise), a non-profit business development company.
• South Shore Bank was contracted to administer a small-business loan program in Russia by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and in Bulgaria by the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund.
• Ron Grzywinski accompanied President Bill Clinton in the Rose Garden as the President signed the Community Development Financial Institutions Act.

1995
• South Shore Bank opened its Music Mart branch in downtown Chicago, its first expansion of retail banking services.
• South Shore Bank merged with Chicago-based Indecorp, Inc., then the second largest minority-owned bank holding company in the nation, and integrated its commercial banks, Independence and Drexel, into existing operations.
• ShoreBank Corporation was selected by NationsBank (now part of Bank of America) to provide advisory services to the National Community Investment Fund (NCIF); NCIF was capitalized to invest in community development financial institutions.
• The Neighborhood Institute acquired the Austin Labor Force Intermediary and changed its name to Chicago Neighborhood Institute (now called ShoreBank Neighborhood Institute).
• ShoreBank Corporation began establishing the Detroit Development Bancorporation.
• In partnership, ShoreBank and Ecotrust created ShoreTrust Trading Group (now called ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific) to provide financing, marketing and management assistance to small businesses in the Pacific coastal rain forest.

1996 
• Douglass Bank extended its contract with Shorebank for an additional 3 years.
• In Detroit, ShoreBank opened a loan production office of South Shore Bank, incorporated one non-bank development affiliate (ShoreBank Enterprise, a non-profit) and obtained $11 million in equity capital commitments from Michigan investors, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the federal Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI).
• As a result of synergies from the Indecorp merger, South Shore Bank increased development loans in the South Shore neighborhood by 60%, in Austin by 84%, and made $11.2 million in development loans in the newly added neighborhoods surrounding the old Independence and Drexel Banks.

1997 
• ShoreBank introduced a new logo and companies were renamed so that all include “Shore” or “ShoreBank” in their names.
• ShoreBank opened ShoreBank Pacific, a bank focusing environmental lending, in Ilwaco, Washington, shortly followed by a Portland office.
• ShoreBank began ShoreBank 25, a long-term strategic planning process.
• ShoreBank Advisory Services was awarded a $15 million contract to provide bank lending services to businesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

1998 
• ShoreBank acquired the assets of Omni Bank in River Rouge, Michigan and created a new bank called ShoreBank Detroit.
• ShoreBank founder James Fletcher died.
• A matched savings program, the Individual Development Account, was launched as a partnership between ShoreBank Neighborhood Institute and South Shore Bank. 

1999 
• ShoreBank adopted a shared service model to increase efficiency and consistency across the organization. Human resources, information technology, national deposit raising, and investments shared services were established.
• The Board of Directors adopted a new conservation and development policy that required ShoreBank take actions to reduce its waste and encourage customers to adopt more sustainable practices.
• ShoreBank founder Milton Davis retired and became Chairman Emeritus at South Shore Bank.

2000 
• South Shore Bank began offering debit cards and online banking.
• ShoreBank Cleveland achieved profitable operations.
• ShoreBank BIDCO expanded its operations to include Detroit.
• George Surgeon, Chief Financial Officer at ShoreBank Corporation, and Steve McConnell, Executive Vice President at ShoreBank Corporation joined the Management Committee.

2001  
• South Shore Bank president Margaret Cheap dies; Anne Arvia is appointed bank president
• South Shore Bank and ShoreBank Detroit merged to become ShoreBank.
• The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) conducted an analysis of the major business lines at the 3 banks; McKinsey and Co. developed a strategic plan for ShoreBank Enterprise Group Cleveland; and Okagaki and Associates assisted ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific in developing its strategic plan.
• Bob Nash became Vice Chairman at the ShoreBank Corporation and joined the Management Committee.

2002  
• The holding company began implementing six corporate strategies based upon the Boston Consulting Group’s recommendations.
• ShoreBank Pacific achieved profitable operations.
• The Chicago/Detroit bank started “Building the ShoreBank Advantage” (BSA) to refine and implement BCG recommendations.
• The Chicago/Detroit bank surpassed its peers in profitability and efficiency for the first time ever.
• Conservation lending grew to 18% total loan volume.
• Milton Davis, Jim Fletcher, Ron Grzywinski and Mary Houghton receive honorary degrees from Northern Michigan University

2003
• In June, the Chicago/Detroit bank’s Mission-Based Deposits department started focusing on a new sector, nonprofit organizations
• ShoreBank started its first branding and marketing effort; it adopted a new mission statement and the tagline “Let’s Change the World,” and key messages are adopted.
• As a part of the new branding strategy, company names changed: ShoreBank always has a capital B, the Cleveland bank became ShoreBank, and all non-profits except for Northern Initiatives became known as “ShoreBank Enterprise”.
• A new strategy for influencing local real estate markets was developed and tested in Cleveland; ShoreBank Development in Chicago began selling the last of the real estate it owns.
• ShoreBank BIDCO and ShoreBank Capital Corporation merged.
• Todd Brown became Vice Chairman at ShoreBank Corporation and joined the Management Committee.
• ShoreBank officially launches the first of its programs that provide financial support to financial institutions overseas that are committed to lending to micro and small businesses. 

2004
• ShoreCap Exchange was officially launched.  ShoreCap Exchange provides technical assistance services to institutions overseas that receive financial support from programs created by ShoreBank.
• ShoreBank was recognized by Chicago Workforce 2.0 as exemplifying best employee development practices.
• In June, the Chicago/Detroit bank opened the Nonprofit Financial Service Center in downtown Chicago. It is believed to be the first banking center in the country designed specifically for servicing nonprofits and foundations.
• ShoreBank invested its second billion in cumulative development loans, only four years after achieving its first billion.
• Mary Houghton was named the American Bankers Association’s Community Development Banker of the Year for her role in making ShoreBank the “gold standard of community development banks and transplanting the bank’s model to other markets and organizations in the US and around the world.”

2005
• ShoreBank founder Milton Davis died.
• The Cleveland bank and Chicago/Detroit bank merged.
• ShoreBank Advisory Services was restructured by ending the national consulting practice, transferring MetroEdge to LISC, and establishing the Center for Financial Services Innovation as a separate nonprofit organization.  ShoreBank Advisory Services’ single remaining business is the international skills transfer and consulting practice.
• An extensive corporate-wide growth planning process was undertaken, including new business and capital strategies. 
• ShoreBank launched the Home Energy Conservation Loan program, making it the first bank in the Midwest to encourage homeowners to make energy saving improvements by offering a mortgage that rolls the improvement costs and the purchase of a home into one mortgage; it also includes free energy audits and an ENERGY STAR appliance.
• Ron Grzywinski received the John W. Gardner Leadership Award from the Independent Sector in recognition of ShoreBank’s focus on urban communities and serving residents excluded from traditional banking circles which helped catalyze a worldwide community development banking movement.

2006
• ShoreBank Advisory Services was renamed “ShoreBank International, Ltd.”
• The Center for Financial Services Innovation began operations as a separate nonprofit organization that develops and distributes research and strategy, provides funding to promising companies, and facilitates cross-sector business collaboration to provide fairly priced profitable services to underbanked consumers.
• Ron Grzywinski and Mary Houghton jointly received the 2006 Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award for challenging social injustice and inspiring the community development banking industry. They use the $50,000 award to support the new ShoreBank International Learning Program, encouraging U.S. employees to study or participate in community development activities in disinvested communities around the world.
• Anne Arvia, president & CEO of the Midwest bank, resigned.
• The Midwest bank acquired Greater Chicago Bank ($67 million in assets), expanding the bank’s Chicago presence to Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood and the Bellwood and Stone Park suburbs.  The acquisition marks ShoreBank’ first foray into a Latino community.
• Grameen Bank’s founder Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Ron Grzywinski and Mary Houghton advised Grameen in the 1980s as it converted from an NGO to a bank.
• ShoreBank Corporation exceeded $2 billion in assets.

2007
• ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific merged with Cascadia Loan Fund to become ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia.
• Vice Chairman Bob Nash resigned.
• ShoreBank Corporation’s cumulative mission investment exceeded $3 billion.
• Docomo, the automated system for recording community development and conservation outputs, launched.
• Joe Hasten became the president and CEO of the Midwest bank.
• The Midwest bank unveiled its Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Loan program that refinances subprime adjustable rate mortgages in response to the nation’s housing and mortgage crisis, and launched ShoreBank Direct, its online high yield savings account.
• The holding company began raising new capital to support the organization’s growth.
• Ron Grzywinski and Mary Houghton were named “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S News & World Report.

2008
• The Midwest bank formally began implementing its Latino strategy, opening a multi-family real estate loan production office in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and accepting the matricular consular card in all its Chicago branches.
• Ron Grzywinski and Mary Houghton received the Theodore M. Hesburgh Award from the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Religious Values in Business and Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide for their sustained contributions to business ethics.
• The Midwest bank opened its Central Loop office in downtown Chicago to house the Nonprofit and Foundation banking group and Individual Depositors staff.
• The Midwest bank added 11 new priority communities in Chicago, linking together the previous West and South Side priority communities, raising the total to 37 Chicago priority neighborhoods.
• The MacArthur Foundation committed $15 million to help reduce the Midwest bank’s risk associated with its Rescue and Prevention Loan program and to reach more homeowners to reduce the risk of foreclosure.
• ShoreBank Pacific moved to new offices in Portland and Seattle whose interiors meet LEED standards.
• ShoreBank Corporation raised $31.3 million in new capital during a year in which the banking industry undergoes its greatest crisis since the Great Depression.
• ShoreBank International raised $62.6 million of debt capital for BRAC to provide microfinance loans to more than 700,000 borrowers in Tanzania, Uganda and Southern Sudan.
• ShoreBank International acted as the technical partner and management company for the first bank dedicated to serving the needs of micro and small businesses in Belarus, the Belarusian Bank for Small Business (BBSB), which opened in October of 2008. 
• The National Community Investment Fund, for which ShoreBank Corporation is Fund Advisor, received a $30 million allocation of New Markets Tax Credits.
• The Midwest bank created and filled its first chief credit officer position.
• Hyde Park resident Barack Obama was elected 44th president of the United States; First Lady Michelle Obama grew up in the South Shore neighborhood.  Former Southern Development board member Hillary Clinton is designated as Secretary of State in the new administration.