2021 CSBS Community Bank Case Study Competition Journal

THIRD PLACE: Southeastern Louisiana University efficiencies. Following Katrina, Liberty had the most profitable year in their history and their ROE ranked as the 25th best in the country. When tragedy struck New Orleans as one of the first hotspots of the COVID-19 pandemic, Liberty’s experience with challenging times helped them persevere for their clients in the urban settings. to Montgomery and Tuskegee, AL, with the purchase of First Tuskegee Bank.

Team Southeastern uses Tableau© to visually show zip codes where the African-American populations are concentrated in Figure 1. The circle sizes are proportional to the location’s deposit size. Liberty branches in Vicksburg and Houston are loan production offices and do not collect deposits. Liberty’s asset growth is the result of acquisitions, successful private and public partnerships, aggressive marketing, and most importantly, experienced and consistent management. Liberty’s Role as a Community Bank and a Conduit for Other Banks Liberty’s mission is to help underserved communities in minority areas. Although these communities have seen progress, according to

Shortly after, in 2008, Liberty expanded into the Greater Kansas City market by acquiring Douglass Bank straddling the Kansas-Missouri boarder. In 2009, they grew further across Greater New Orleans with the acquisition of United Bank and Trust Company. Acquisitions of Home Federal Savings in Detroit, MI, and Chicago-based Covenant Bank of Illinois in 2013 brought Liberty to more urban core areas with large minority communities. With their most recent acquisition in 2015, Liberty spread

Figure 1: Map of African-American population density and Liberty’s deposits in urban core areas

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