Broadway Bank (Illinois)
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Broadway Bank was a Chicago bank that existed from 1979 to 2010, and was owned by the Giannoulias family.
It was founded in 1979 by Alexis Giannoulias, a Greek immigrant. His sons, Demetris Giannoulias and Alexi Giannoulias, were also heavily involved in the bank. Demetris eventually became a senior officer, and Alexi was a vice president and senior loan officer[1] from 2002 to 2006.[2] By 2010, Demetris was CEO.[3] Its financial situation and history of questionable loans were a factor in the campaign of Alexi Giannoulias in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Illinois.
In 2002, Broadway Bank made a one million dollar loan to Loren Billings, using her building on West Washington Street in Chicago as collateral; the building was both her home and the Museum of Holography, which she had founded in the 1970s. In 2006, her son sued the bank, claiming that she had dementia; the bank won the suit in Cook County court in 2008 but, as of December 2009[update], the case was being pursued by the son in appellate court.[1]
Among people with bank accounts at Broadway were Barack Obama, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, and Chicago alderman Walter Burnett, Jr.[1]
In 2006, Broadway Bank was considered very successful, and less than 0.5% of its loan portfolio was 90 days overdue.[1]
Alexi Giannoulias left Broadway Bank in 2006 when he was elected Illinois State Treasurer.[1] While state treasurer, he won the Democratic primary in the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Illinois, making him the Democratic candidate for Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.[citation needed]