Erebor Bank Commits $20 Million to Columbus Institutions in Initiative Chaired by Marcia Fudge
The bank partnered first with Adelphi Bank before planning nationwide expansion.
Adelphi Bank at 800 East Long St. in Columbus's King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood.
Credit: Google Street View · © Google · Google Street View panorama w0Kzu1QvjtdmmI13JgpsKw, captured September 2026
Columbus-headquartered Erebor Bank, National Association, announced on Oct. 15, 2026, a nationwide Opportunity Initiative starting with a $20 million commitment to financial institutions in Columbus, partnering first with Adelphi Bank.
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and longtime Cleveland congresswoman Marcia Fudge was appointed chair of the Opportunity Initiative, tasked with building the model in Columbus before expanding across Ohio and the country. Fudge said the initiative's partnership with community-based financial institutions represents an innovative approach to help commercial opportunities in urban and rural areas that continue to go underfunded.
Adelphi Bank, Ohio's first Black-owned bank, was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in Columbus's King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood. Adelphi Bank is located at 800 East Long St., Columbus, Ohio. Adelphi was established with a mission to reduce the wealth gap by providing homeownership opportunities, entrepreneurial resources, and banking services to historically underserved communities in Central Ohio.
Jordan Miller, chairman and CEO of Adelphi Bank, said the partnership gives the bank the ability to deploy more capital faster into small businesses, homeowners, and commercial corridors. Adelphi Bank founder Kevin Boyce said combining strengths around a shared purpose is how institutions start to close the wealth gap and move capital into neighborhoods left out for generations.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced conditional approval on Oct. 15, 2025, for the de novo national bank charter application for Erebor Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio. After opening in early 2026, Erebor reported that its balance sheet has reached over $8 billion in assets.
Erebor stated that its corporate customers operate across manufacturing, aerospace, defense, robotics, artificial intelligence, and energy, and that the Opportunity Initiative will focus on partnering with local institutions to fund community ventures ranging from housing to employment training to healthcare. The announcement did not disclose the financial structure of the $20 million commitment or provide a deployment schedule for the capital.
Owen Rapaport, co-founder and CEO of Erebor, said the bank created the initiative because urban and rural institutions aware of viable commercial opportunities did not previously have a national partner to empower them.
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Erebor Bank, N.A. Announces Nationwide Opportunity Initiative, with Secretary Marcia Fudge as Chair
Supporting evidence (10)
Columbus-headquartered Erebor Bank, National Association, announced on Oct. 15, 2026, a nationwide Opportunity Initiative starting with a $20 million commitment to financial institutions in Columbus, partnering first with Adelphi Bank.
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Erebor Bank, N.A. Announces Nationwide Opportunity Initiative, with Secretary Marcia Fudge as Chair COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Erebor Bank, National Association, with its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, today announced its nationwide effort to bring resources to the local financial institutions closest to urban and rural commercial opportunities. Erebor is beginning with a $20 million commitment to financial institutions in its home town of Columbus. Erebor's first partner for the initiative is Adelphi Bank, a minority-owned bank also in Columbus.
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and longtime Cleveland congresswoman Marcia Fudge was appointed chair of the Opportunity Initiative, tasked with building the model in Columbus before expanding across Ohio and the country.
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Erebor also announced that Marcia Fudge, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and long-time Cleveland congresswoman, would chair the Opportunity Initiative. Secretary Fudge's mandate is first to build the model in Columbus, and then to take this model throughout the state and the country on behalf of Erebor.
Fudge said the initiative's partnership with community-based financial institutions represents an innovative approach to help commercial opportunities in urban and rural areas that continue to go underfunded.
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"I'm honored to partner with the Erebor team as the chair of their nationwide Opportunity Initiative. Today, there are incredible commercial opportunities in urban and rural communities throughout America that continue to go underfunded. This initiative's partnership with community-based financial institutions represents the innovative approach that America needs. I applaud Erebor Bank for doing the right thing," said Secretary Fudge.
Adelphi Bank, Ohio's first Black-owned bank, was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in Columbus's King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood.
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Adelphi Bank is Ohio's first Black-owned bank, founded in 2023 and headquartered in Columbus's King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood.
Adelphi was established with a mission to reduce the wealth gap by providing homeownership opportunities, entrepreneurial resources, and banking services to historically underserved communities in Central Ohio.
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Adelphi's mission is to reduce the wealth gap by providing homeownership opportunities, entrepreneurial resources, and banking services to historically underserved communities in Central Ohio.
Jordan Miller, chairman and CEO of Adelphi Bank, said the partnership gives the bank the ability to deploy more capital faster into small businesses, homeowners, and commercial corridors.
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"We've spent years building relationships and trust in these communities. This partnership gives us the ability to deploy more capital, faster, into the small businesses, homeowners, and commercial corridors that need it most," said Jordan Miller, Chairman and CEO, Adelphi Bank.
Adelphi Bank founder Kevin Boyce said combining strengths around a shared purpose is how institutions start to close the wealth gap and move capital into neighborhoods left out for generations.
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"Partnerships like this one are exactly how you move capital into neighborhoods that have been left out for generations. When institutions with different strengths come together around a shared purpose, that's how we start to close the wealth gap in a real, measurable way," said Kevin L. Boyce, Founder, Adelphi Bank.
After opening in early 2026, Erebor reported that its balance sheet has reached over $8 billion in assets.
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After opening in early 2026, the bank has reached over $8 billion in assets.
Erebor stated that its corporate customers operate across manufacturing, aerospace, defense, robotics, artificial intelligence, and energy, and that the Opportunity Initiative will focus on partnering with local institutions to fund community ventures ranging from housing to employment training to healthcare.
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These companies operate across manufacturing, aerospace, defense, robotics, AI, and energy in communities across the country. The Erebor Opportunity Initiative will focus on partnering with local financial institutions in these same jurisdictions where its customers operate to ensure that significant community-based commercial ventures are sustainably funded. These programs will range from housing to employment training to healthcare
Owen Rapaport, co-founder and CEO of Erebor, said the bank created the initiative because urban and rural institutions aware of viable commercial opportunities did not previously have a national partner to empower them.
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Across the country, in urban and rural areas, there are financial institutions keenly aware of essential and viable commercial opportunities. Until today, they didn't have a national partner to empower them. We are proud to play a small part in changing that and are thrilled to partner in this mission with Adelphi Bank, Secretary Fudge, and other institutions throughout the nation," said Owen Rapaport, Co-Founder and CEO of Erebor.
Supporting evidence (1)
Adelphi Bank is located at 800 East Long St., Columbus, Ohio.
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Adelphi Bank 800 East Long St., Columbus, Ohio 43203
https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2025/nr-occ-2025-101.html
Supporting evidence (2)
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced conditional approval on Oct. 15, 2025, for the de novo national bank charter application for Erebor Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio.
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The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced today that it has conditionally approved the de novo national bank charter application for Erebor Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced conditional approval on Oct. 15, 2025, for the de novo national bank charter application for Erebor Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio.
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October 15, 2025