Redemption Bank's historic Utah launch backed by former White House policy advisor, NFL and NBA stars
In June 2025, Redemption Holding Co. finalized a historic Utah acquisition, taking control of Holladay Bank & Trust and becoming the first Black-led investment group to own a bank in a Western U.S. state.
While the newly formed financial institution stands out because of its ownership, it also holds the distinction of being the first African-American-led bank in American history that is not physically located within an economically vulnerable community. Redemption Bank also stands only in the Rockies and helps fill a geographic void in what has long been considered a Black-banking dessert that stretches from Houston to Southern California.
Ashley Bell is a lawyer who served as White House Policy Advisor during the first Trump administration and is currently the Redemption Bank executive chairman. After years in the White House, Bell decided to take his government policy experience west, partnering with civil rights leaders, business executives and sports figures to launch the digital-first bank.
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At launch, the bank held an estimated $65 million in assets and plans to prioritize commercial lending while building a dedicated small-business lending team.
"As Utah’s long-respected Holladay Bank and Trust transitions post-acquisition to Redemption Bank, our
bank founders are quickly building a fully tech-enabled, concierge platform focused on supporting
entrepreneurs’ ability to become even more economically resilient," Bell said in a statement sent to FOX Business.
Bell added: "We found an exceptional business environment in Utah, specifically in Holladay, along with a bank that has a clean balance sheet and a state with the highest average return on assets for banks in the country. We are committed to competing in Utah to earn the business of customers from all backgrounds."
Bell also noted that the 2023 Holladay Bank acquisition was delayed by regulatory fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.
"This milestone reflects the power of partnership, vision and a shared belief that access to capital can transform lives," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement. "We’re grateful for the leaders who saw the potential and made it happen."
Former New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones is also a Redemption Bank investor. Jones also played for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Collin Sexton, who is in his first season with the Charlotte Hornets, is also an investor — backed by TribeAngels and Coinlete. Sexton spent three years in Utah during his stint with the Utah Jazz.
The group of investors involved in the Holladay acquisition included Central Bancorporation and Ally Financial Inc.
Brandon Comer, managing partner at Alterity Capital and a Redemption Bank founding investor, believed so strongly in the need for this type of banking in Utah that he put his personal funds into it.
"We used to have over 140 Black-owned banks in the country, and (now) we are down to 20," Comer told FOX Business. "Post-George Floyd, Ashley Bell and I came together and said, 'Look, a lot of corporations see the impact that Black banks can have and Black banks see the opportunity of partnering with corporations, but there needs to be an intermediary that help can bridge the two and really help seize this moment."
Dr. Bernice A. King, the daughter of the late civil rights icon Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was named Redemption Bank’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and serves on the company’s advisory board.
"I know deeply what it means for a nation to respond in times of crisis and how communities come
together to realize that what’s needed, sometimes, has never been done," King said in a statement. "Redemption will help deliver on my father’s dream of economic equality, and we are honored to be ushering in needed
change at such a pivotal time."
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Redemption Bank becomes the nation’s 24th Black-owned bank, a group designated as Minority Depository Institutions. The most recent MDI launch came in 2023 with the creation of Adelphi Bank.