A Bank Survives Katrina. Now, the Hard Part

To reach the executive suite of the Liberty Bank and Trust Company here, you first have to navigate a stretch of town that still lacks street signs. Finding an entrance to the bank’s headquarters is another challenge. You have to circle behind the building, a six-story glass box that is still missing several windows, and — as if there to work on the plumbing — walk up a set of corrugated steel steps sandwiched between a Dumpster and an oversized air-conditioning unit.

After traversing a bare room that smells of mildew and walking past three disabled elevators, you trudge up five more flights of steel stairs to reach the office of Alden J. McDonald Jr., the chief executive of this institution, which was the country’s third-largest black-owned bank until Hurricane Katrina and floodwaters roared through New Orleans one year ago.

Mr. McDonald and his staff count themselves among the fortunate, despite the general state of disrepair inside and outside their building. While their neighborhood wants for many basic amenities, including mail delivery and phone service, their company is one of the few enterprises back in business in the vast northeastern quadrant of New Orleans. And in a city where an estimated two in three businesses remain shuttered, Liberty is not only open but also turning a profit.

from the NY Times