American bankers destroyed by article (9)
I believe the answer is:
nebraskan
'american' is the definition.
(Nebraskan is an example)
'bankers destroyed by article' is the wordplay.
'destroyed' indicates an anagram.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'article' becomes 'an' (indefinite article).
'bankers' with letters rearranged gives 'nebrask'.
'nebrask'+'an'='NEBRASKAN'
(Other definitions for nebraskan that I've seen before include "Lincoln resident?" , "One from Omaha" , "Statesman" , "inhabitant of Lincoln, possibly" .)