For 100 years, Citizens Trust Bank built its reputation on being there for its customers and the communities they represent, especially during critical times. The Bank’s actions during the global COVID 19 crisis, especially through its participation with PPP application process, were essential to saving small businesses and the communities they support for years to come. Citizens Trust Bank’s participation in the SBA PPP ensured a greater opportunity to access the assistance needed for the communities most critically affected.
On the Shoulders of Two Giants
Herman J. Russell, Sr., Citizens Bancshares Corporation Chairman Emeritus. An entrepreneur and philanthropist turned a small plastering firm into one of the most successful African-American-owned real estate development and construction companies in America. Russell, a lifelong Atlantan who counted among his friends several presidents and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., helped to position the bank for unprecedented growth and wielded his influence far beyond Atlanta the Capitol of the South.
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Arthur George Gaston, founder of Citizens Federal Savings Bank. Famed philanthropist and well-known entrepreneur, Gaston established several businesses in Birmingham, Alabama, and played a significant role in the struggle to integrate Birmingham in 1963.