It was officially launched in San Francisco, California, on 1 September 1980, stating that one of its core principles was non-discrimination against gay men and lesbians.[1] It was the first banking institution in the United States and the world whose target audience was gay people;[3] its board of directors was composed exclusively of gay men and lesbians, including John Schmidt (chairman of the board), W. Gerald Flanagan (president of the company), and Charlotte Coleman.[2][4]
The bank opened its doors on 16 November 1981, at the corner of Market Street and Duboce Street.[4] On 30 August 1982, Atlas Bank opened its second branch at 4126 18th Street in the Castro district, in a building that had previously housed a United Federal Savings branch.[5] Atlas's assets grew from $21 million in 1982 to $96 million by December 1983.[6]
On 6 January 1984, Atlas branches closed between 1:00 and 1:15 p.m., and employees wore black armbands in protest of the release of Dan White, the assassin of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk in 1978.[7] In November 1984, James Bowersox was appointed as the bank's new president.[8]
By 1985, Atlas had three branches in the city,[9] and in November 1984 it opened a branch in San Francisco's financial district.[10] In 1983, Atlas began construction of a new headquarters at 444 Castro Street (replacing the former Eureka Super Market), at the same time as it closed its 18th Street office.[11]
By June 1985, Atlas began experiencing liquidity problems, mainly due to loans made to failing real estate projects, and in August, it was declared insolvent.[9][12] On 14 July 1986, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board approved the acquisition of Atlas by Empire of America; at that time, the bank had assets of $76 million.[13]
