Yusuf Hakeem, Kevin Adams, James Moreland, J. Anthony Taylor, and Moses Freeman
SunTrust Bank officials said they have decided to keep a branch on E. Third Street, but they asked for more business from the community.
Several community leaders met with bank officials on Tuesday and gained assurances that the bank was staying open.
Among those taking part were City Council members Moses Freeman, Yusuf Hakeem, pastors Kevin Adams and J. Anthony Taylor and community leader James Moreland.
Councilman Freeman said last week that he had been advised that SunTrust was closing the branch, which he said is the last remaining full-service bank for some eight neighborhoods.
Councilman Freeman urged residents to do business with the bank, and he said, "The community at large can participate."
He said among those attending the meeting was a regional director from Nashville and local CEO Jim Vaughan.
Councilman Hakeem said, "The community has not fully participated and now the bank is reaching out to us."
Asked why the bank changed its mind, Councilman Freeman said, "I think they began to see that they were the last bank. I think they were moved by the whole debate."
He said, They are good people - Christians and Southerners. We all got together and had a good time."
3rd Street branch