The top leader of the Democratic National Convention Committee announced on Wednesday that the organization has made a $2 million deposit with the nation’s only multi-tribal-owned bank, which is based in Denver.

“When the 2008 Democratic National Convention comes to Denver, we want to ensure that it offers economic benefits to the community as a whole,” said Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the DNCC. “Our goal is to bring groundbreaking opportunities to the broad variety of businesses that make the city of Denver stand tall. Native American Bank is the perfect partner for us in this venture because of its proven commitment to supporting economic growth and development in diverse communities.”

Native American Bank and Democratic convention officials held a press and phone conference on Wednesday morning from the bank’s headquarters in downtown Denver. J.D. Colbert, president and CEO of the Native American Bank, described the multimillion-dollar deposit as an “historic partnership.”

“The DNCC’s deposit with Native American Bank underscores its commitment to the greater Denver metropolitan area and to the vibrancy of the Denver business community,” said Colbert. “For Native American Bank, this is a significant deposit that will allow us to continue to expand our lending and economic development activities across Indian Country, as well as to native and other businesses here in the Denver metropolitan area.”

Frank LaMere, chairman of the Native American Democratic Caucus, said 35,000 people are expected in Denver for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He hopes upward of 8,000 Native people attend the event.

“When Leah called, I took that phone call and it pretty much made my week,” said LaMere. “She didn’t hear me put my hand over the phone and say, ‘Aho!’ ”

The Native American Bank was created in 2001. The bank’s total assets topped $86 million as of June 30, up from $24 million in 2002. The bank is now owned by 26 federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations across the United States. The bank’s mission is to promote economic development in Native communities, which have been historically under-served by mainstream banks.

More than 85 percent of the bank’s loans are made to Native people, including commercial, home mortgages, real estate and consumer loans.

“The Native American Bank represents perhaps the most courageous, grand and ambitious banking experiment in the history of the United States,” said Colbert. “For generations, mainstream banks have ignored and avoided Indian Country and reservation areas.

“They said they couldn’t make money in Indian Country,” he said. “They said Indian people would default on any loans they made. They said reservation areas were too economically distressed. They said that the trust land status of reservations was a complete obstacle to transacting any business. In effect, they said that Native people were not bank-worthy.”

But the national Indian bank has proved otherwise.

“Now in our sixth year of operation, Native American Bank is no longer an experiment,” said Colbert. The bank expects profit margins to double in 2007, compared to the previous year’s figure of $551,000.

The bank could improve its lending service in Indian Country if amendments were made to the National Bank Act, which would allow tribes to control interstate branches of nationally chartered banks in reservation areas. Colbert said the NAB would like to establish 100 new bank branches on 100 reservations across the country.

The DNCC chose the Native American Bank in large part because of the bank’s work through the Native American Community Development Corp., a nonprofit arm directed by Elouise Cobell of Browning. The organization helps strengthen the financial insight of Native people and tribal communities throughout the country.

Here are some of NACDC’s current initiatives:

- Work with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation to help the Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck tribal communities in Montana to buy land.

- Provide start-up assistance and ongoing guidance to youth-oriented financial education “mini-bank” initiatives on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana and the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho.

- Develop a model small business incubator on the Blackfeet Reservation and provide direct assistance on specific business planning and business financing projects within the Blackfeet and other tribal communities.

- Provide home mortgage counseling and assistance on home mortgage applications with a focus on the HUD 184 loan guarantee program.

“The $2 million deposit today from the DNCC will allow Native American Bank to continue and enlarge its financial success ... to serving Indian Country and improving the quality of life of its residents,” said Colbert.

Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 406-396-8537 or at jodi.rave@lee.net.