Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

BANK2
“Great leaders cast visions which challenge
men and women to do far more than they
have imagined,” states Ross. At a strategic
planning meeting held in May of 2001,
Governor Anoatubby cast a great vision
challenging board members to put the bank
on a national footprint, especially to meet
the needs of Chickasaws and other Native
Americans. The Bank2 charter application
was approved within ninety days after 9/11,
and in January of 2002, over 400 persons
attended the grand opening party.
Above: Ross Alan Hill, Founder, president
and CEO speaking to the crowd at the
bank’s tenth anniversary party.
Right: Governor Bill Anoatubby addressing
crowd at the bank’s tenth anniversary party.
Below: The Bank2 Building located at 909
South Meridian Avenue, Oklahoma City.
Owned entirely by the Chickasaw Nation,
Bank2 specializes in making loans to Native
Americans from Alaska to Florida and from
Hawaii to Maine, and in government-guaranteed
business loans, home construction loans
and loans to entrepreneurs. The bank was
founded in January of 2002 by Ross Alan Hill,
president and CEO. Its current individual board
members, Brian Gabbard, chairman, Dr. Judy
Goforth Parker, vice chair, Ross Hill, James
Jennings, Neal McCaleb, and William Paul,
were chosen by Chickasaw Nation Governor
Bill Anoatubby and approved by the Chickasaw
Legislature. Congressman Tom Cole is among
the past Bank2 board members of interest.
The bank’s Davidson branch was sold in
November of that year to allow bank officials to
focus their attention on building the Oklahoma
City location. The Native American Home Loan
Department opened in 2004 to specialize in
making HUD-184 Mortgage Loans to Native
Americans. That same year, Bank2 received two
prestigious honors: the Service Firm of the Year
award from the Oklahoma Native American
Business Development group and the Small
Business of the Year award from the American
Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma.
Many other honors have followed, including
being named to the Top 10 Diversified
Businesses in Oklahoma (2005-2012); Top 100
Native American Owned Businesses in America
(2005-2014); and the Access to Capital Award
by the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority
Business Development Agency (2011). In 2009,
Hawaii Homelands recognized Bank2’s efforts
for making home ownership dreams come
true for Native Hawaiians; and also in 2009
the American Banking Journal named Bank2 as
the number one community bank in America.
It was ranked third in the same category
from the American Banking Journal in 2010.
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