LOOKING FOR INTEREST IN BLACK BANK

A group of black entrepreneurs is quietly putting together plans to open the first minority-controlled bank in Dallas.

The group includes Dr. Ben Clark, a podiatrist; John Dodd, a certified public accountant; Eddie Bernice Johnson, a former Texas legislator; H. Ron White, an attorney; and Erby Hunter, a dentist.

The group plans to raise $1.5 million, and they’re looking for support from major businesses like Xerox and Texas Instruments. They’ve already scheduled formal presentations with those companies.

Names under consideration for the bank include Sunbelt National and First Independence. The offices will be located in Oak Cliff, probably in the Lancaster-Kiest area.

The principals don’t want to talk about their new enterprise for fear their efforts will be jeopardized. Some contend their first run at setting up such a bank (about four years ago) was derailed because other banks, mostly in Oak Cliff, found out about the plans and lobbied against them.

The most forceful objection came from Guaranty Bank, which has the largest number of black depositors in the city, according to Ted Lawe, a sponsor of the first bank application. Singer Charley Pride, a board member at Guaranty, argued strenuously against the bank. This time, Lawe says, the sponsors stand a better chance of getting the go-ahead. They’ve hired consultants who put together black banks elsewhere. And they are forming a trust to control 51 per cent of the assets.