Giant Food Supports Diverse-Owned Lending
Building on a shared commitment to helping underserved communities, Giant Food has made a $50 million money market fund investment supporting The Harbor Bank of Maryland, the only Black-owned and -managed commercial bank with headquarters in the state.
Founded in 1982, The Harbor Bank of Maryland has six branches located throughout the state, serving the greater Baltimore metropolitan area. Giant Food's investment will provide the bank with greater financial opportunities for the communities it serves by being able to supply more loans to consumers and small businesses, investing in technologies and digital capabilities to better serve customers and expanding operations to serve more communities.
"We are pleased to support The Harbor Bank of Maryland with this investment to provide more financial opportunities for individual and small-business bank customers in the Baltimore area," said Ira Kress, president of Giant Food, a banner of Ahold Delhaize USA. "With a shared commitment to supporting our communities with economic development, this is a natural collaboration for us, and we look forward to the continued impact The Harbor Bank of Maryland provides."
The money market fund investment will be managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management through its Empowering Change program (The Harbor Bank of Maryland serves as a distributor) as part of its commitment to bringing new economic opportunities to historically underserved communities.
"The Harbor Bank of Maryland has a long history of providing capital and financial services to the greater Baltimore region," said John Lewis, president and COO of The Harbor Bank of Maryland. "We are encouraged by the support of Giant, an important local partner and community anchor, in furthering our efforts."
Another one of Ahold Delhaize's banners is providing financial opportunities for underserved communities. Last month, Food Lion also made a $50 million deposit supporting Mechanics and Farmers (M&F) Bank, the second-oldest minority-owned bank in the United States. With $372 million in total assets, M&F Bank is the eighth-largest African-American-owned financial institution in the United States and the only bank in North Carolina to receive Community Development Financial Institution designation, a network of mission-driven institutions that serve and empower economically distressed communities.
Based in Landover, Md., Giant Food operates 164 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia, with approximately 20,000 associates. Included within the 164 stores are 152 full-service pharmacies, 83 full-service PNC Banks and 26 Starbucks locations. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
