Prominent Minnesota banking leader and philanthropist David Cleveland died Sept. 17 at his home in Sarona, Wis., at the age of 89.
A 55-year banker, Cleveland’s career spanned from 1958 to 2013. Cleveland was a vice president and president of multiple banks in the Twin Cities area, and helped 28 banks with forming charters or branches.
As reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Cleveland and three other founding investors started Riverside Bank in 1974 on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota campus. He sold the bank in 1999 for approximately $90 million in Associated Bancorp stock. Cleveland led Associated’s Minnesota franchise for the next three years.
Cleveland and his wife Carolyn were also philanthropists. They started MN Cup, a public-private partnership intended to support Minnesota entrepreneurs. “A core part of his philosophy was believing in area entrepreneurs and approving successful loans for them when other banks had denied them, and then mentoring the businesses to help them flourish,” his obituary stated.
Born on Aug. 29, 1933, in Delta, Iowa, Cleveland graduated from Sioux Falls College and the Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking in Madison.