Our History
Ponce Bank was founded in the Bronx in 1960 to provide financial services to communities long underserved by larger institutions. Today, it is recognized as both a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a Minority Depository Institution (MDI)—a distinction held by fewer than 50 banks nationwide.
These designations reflect the Bank’s unwavering commitment to its founding mission, demonstrated by reinvesting more than 80% of its assets directly into the communities it serves.
Following its restructuring in 2017, Ponce Bank expanded its impact by establishing The Ponce de Leon Foundation. Through this initiative, the Bank provides grants to nonprofit organizations across an ever-growing service area, now spanning the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey.
To-date the foundation has supported over 145 organizations and over $3MM awarded through the foundation to support local community organizations, initiatives and scholarships.
