Emma C. Chappell

Emma Carolyn Chappell (née Bayton, February 18, 1941 – March 16, 2021), was an American banker who founded and was CEO of the United Bank of Philadelphia. She was the second African-American woman to found a bank in the US after Maggie L. Walker in 1903. She was the first African-American woman to found a full-service commercial bank in the US and the first female vice president of a major bank in the state of Pennsylvania. Her banking initiatives funded redevelopment in Philadelphia, minority- and women-owned businesses, and loans for lower-income residents to purchase homes.

She was treasurer for the Jesse Jackson 1984 presidential campaign, helped found his Rainbow Coalition, and was executive director of the Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project.

Early life and education Chappell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 18, 1941, to Emma and George Bayton. Her pastor, Rev. Leon Sullivan, a leader in the Philadelphia civil rights movement, recognized her mathematical skills after giving her an aptitude test and encouraged her to work in a banking career. and helped found Jackson's Rainbow Coalition. At that time, the United Bank of Philadelphia was the only commercial, bank owned by African-Americans north of the Mason-Dixon line. The last African-American owned bank in Philadelphia, Citizens & Southern National Bank, had gone out of business in 1956.

She created the United Bank of Philadelphia with intentions to foster community development by providing quality, personalized, comprehensive banking services to businesses and individuals in Philadelphia. The bank expanded through the purchase of six branches from the Resolution Trust Corporation and grew from one location with deposits of $18 million to seven locations and deposits of $87.2 million. In 1994, United Bank of Philadelphia was named financial company of the year by Black Enterprise. By 1997, the bank had $106 million in assets, issued their own credit cards, and partnered with American Express to offer financial investment advice.

She served as executive director for the Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Project which promoted financial firms to hire minorities. In 2015, she was appointed to the transition team of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf as a financial advisor. and an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She received numerous recognitions for her achievements including from BlackBook magazine, the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, the North Philadelphia branch of the NAACP, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Society for Advancement of Management. due to sepsis and was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Personal life She married Verdayne Chappell on May 7, 1960. They had two children but later divorced.