Four de novo banks coming to Carolinas
De novo banks powering up in the US
Three US start-up banks are being launched in North Carolina – with one also powering up in South Carolina.
American Bank & Trust will be based in Monroe, founded by a group of local business owners and led by David Cutherberston, CEO of home building company True Homes.
It is understood that Randy Helton, who in the late 1990s founded another local bank with a similar name, American Community Bank, is assisting with the venture. American Community Bank does not exist today – it is part of First National Bank.
American Bank & Trust hopes to raise $20 million in capital via an IPO.
Community Bank of the Carolinas (CBC) is based in Winston-Salem. It says it will focus on the local community and the surrounding area, “emphasising personal service to individuals and small- to medium-sized businesses”.
The bank expects to receive all regulatory approvals by Q3 this year and open for business in Q4.
CBC is led by Simpson “Skip” O. Brown Jr. (chairman and CEO) and James “Jim” C. Monroe Jr. (vice-chairman and CFO).
It plans to raise $30 million by selling common stock. “The response from the community has been both overwhelming and motivating,” says Brown Jr. “There’s a lot of excitement among investors. They realise there is a market for customers who prefer a personalised banking experience that is not being served by larger banks.”
Spirit Community Bank, too, plans to raise $30 million via stock sale. The bank’s HQ is in Statesville. Similar to CBC, it will be a full-service bank, focusing on the local community, namely consumers and SMEs.
The bank emphasises that its organisers “all live and work in Iredell County and are leaders in the Statesville community, representing decades of business and civic service”.
Spirit Community Bank’s president, CEO and chairman, William “Bill” Long Sr., has over four decades of banking experience, and was previously president and CEO of Yadkin Bank (now part of First National Bank).
COO Kirsti Eller also comes from Yadkin Bank, where she was EVP and CIO. She has over 30 years of experience in the industry.
“Help us ignite the spirit of community,” reads the welcome message on the bank’s website.
And finally, South Carolina has its own start-up bank too – Beacon Community Bank. The bank opened for business in early 2018 and is based in Charleston.
“It’s a rare thing to hear someone say, ‘I love my bank,’ but that is exactly what we at Beacon strive to do,” the bank says on its website. It caters for consumers and SMEs.
The bank is led by president and CEO Brooks Melton, who comes from another local bank, CommunityOne Bank (soon to be merged into Capital Bank). CFO is Clay Heslop and COO is Craig Johnson – both formerly of Southcoast Community Bank (now part of Pinnacle Financial Partners).
For its tech, Beacon has opted for the Silverlake core banking system from Jack Henry & Associates. The solution is supplied on a hosted basis via JHA OutLink Processing Services (JHA OPS) and its entire IT infrastructure is supported by Gladiator Hosted Network Solutions.
Check out our list of challenger banks in the US! Click here to read it.
