The Banker (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Because of the pervasive racial discrimination in 1960s America, Bernard and Joe knew they could not acquire properties or banks in white neighborhoods if they appeared as Black men. By training Matt Steiner, a poor white man, to pose as the wealthy CEO of their empire, they could bypass racist barriers while remaining the actual decision-makers behind the scenes.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Bernard's father warned him that talent wouldn't matter in Texas due to racism, setting up the necessity of this workaround.

• Matt Steiner
• frontman
• racial discrimination
• front company

The arrangement allowed them to enter predominantly white neighborhoods and business dealings that would have been impossible otherwise. Matt posed as the educated, wealthy businessman while Bernard and Joe secretly controlled operations, Bernard as a janitor and Joe as a chauffeur. This enabled them to purchase properties in white areas and eventually acquire banks, creating opportunities for Black tenants and community members.

• real estate
• acquisition
• discrimination
• business strategy

After building a successful real estate empire with 200 buildings in Los Angeles, Bernard wanted to expand into banking to have more direct control over loan accessibility for Black communities. Texas represented both opportunity, due to its large Black population, and personal significance, since Bernard had been born there and witnessed racism firsthand.

Foreshadowing: The film opens with Bernard in 1939 Texas, where his father told him racism would block his banking dreams, creating motivation to return and change that system.

• Texas
• bank acquisition
• community empowerment
• loans

The new owner's son secured a position at the bank and began approving questionable loans, creating risky lending practices. When a treasury audit approached, Matt suggested moving these suspicious loans to another bank to hide them, but the situation quickly escalated into full-blown fraud to cover their tracks.

• audit
• loans
• fraud
• treasury investigation

Facing federal charges and potential imprisonment, Matt accepted a plea deal to save himself. He testified against Bernard and Joe in exchange for a reduced sentence, choosing self-preservation over loyalty to the men who had given him his success and education.

• Matt Steiner
• plea deal
• testimony
• betrayal

Their scheme collapsed when Matt proposed creating fraudulent transactions through their original bank to cover losses from the problematic Texas loans. These fabrications triggered a federal investigation, leading the FBI to raid their operations and arrest both Bernard and Joe for banking fraud.

• FBI
• arrest
• fraud
• federal investigation

Although their goal was to fight racial discrimination and help Black communities, the jury focused on the technical violations of banking law. Their use of a frontman, fraudulent loan shuffling, and fabricated transactions constituted illegal activity regardless of their motivations, and an all-white jury in 1965 delivered guilty verdicts.

• trial
• conviction
• jury
• banking law

After their 1965 conviction and three-year prison sentences, their empire crumbled. Most of their assets were lost, and only one building remained under Eunice Garrett's name. Meanwhile, Robert Florance, Jr. bought back the bank at a drastically reduced price and profited from their downfall.

• assets
• prison
• losses
• Robert Florance

In Texas, they implemented so-called 'color-blind' loan approvals, meaning they approved loans without considering race. This was meant to fight discrimination, but the bank owner's son exploited this policy to approve risky loans to unqualified borrowers, creating financial problems that later had to be concealed during audits.

• color-blind loans
• discrimination policy
• bank practices

The government shut down their banks because of the mounting fraudulent activities they engaged in to cover the bad Texas loans. When the fabricated transactions and illegal loan shuffling were discovered during the treasury audit, federal regulators closed the banks and pursued criminal charges against the perpetrators.

• bank closure
• government
• treasury
• regulations