- Key insight: Continuing on a path of reinvention that started last year when it sold three branches and moved its headquarters to Mobile, Alabama-based 22nd State Banking Co. plans to introduce a national digital small-business banking subsidiary this summer.
- Supporting data: 22nd State's net income more than doubled in 2025 to $5.3 million.
- Expert quote: "Our vision is to build an advisor-led bank for small businesses that combines the convenience of modern digital banking with the trust and guidance of a true financial partner" — 22nd State CEO Steve Smith
An Alabama-based community bank that
22nd State Banking Co., a $273 million-asset lender headquartered in Mobile, announced the debut of its Always.bank digital platform Wednesday. Starting with high-yield savings and certificates of deposit, the bank plans to follow with a full-scale launch this summer, including a new headquarters for the unit, which will operate as a standalone subsidiary of 22nd State, in Birmingham.
"Our vision is to build an advisor-led bank for small businesses that combines the convenience of modern digital banking with the trust and guidance of a true financial partner," 22nd State CEO Steve Smith said in a press release.
Linker Finance in Palo Alto, California, is providing the technology foundation for Always.bank, including cloud-based mobile and online banking capabilities.
"Steve and his team aren't just launching a digital bank, they're building a national community banking experience for ambitious Americans," Jorge Garcia, Linker's founder and CEO, told American Banker.
Linker plays a similar, behind-the-scenes role for the $409.2 million-asset Bank of Brodhead in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Bank of Broadhead introduced Vault.bank, a separately branded deposit-gathering platform, in December 2024. In its first year of operations, Vault.bank helped Bank of Brodhead boost deposits 20%, to $328.6 million at year-end 2025, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. statistics.
"Our goal is to provide a neobank grade of technology to community banks and help them compete," Garcia said.
22nd State Banking Co.'s roots extend back to 1917, when the company was founded as Farmers Exchange Bank in Louisville, Alabama. It rebranded as 22nd State in 2018.
In January 2024, 22nd State announced plans to relocate its headquarters to Mobile and sell five branches to the $3.7 billion-asset All In Credit Union in Daleville, Alabama. The sale, which was later downsized to three branches, closed in April 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed.
22nd State has been quietly developing the Always.bank concept over the past year. It partnered with Linker last fall. In January, it named LaCour Miller, a veteran asset-based lender, as managing director of specialty finance. Always.bank has been operating in a soft-launch mode since the start of the year with an eye toward the expected debut of the full small-business banking platform.
"It will be comparable to Mercury or Bluevine, a very complete product," Garcia said.
22nd State is on solid financial footing as it prepares to expand. Its net income more than doubled between 2024 and 2025, increasing from $2.5 million to $5.3 million, according to the FDIC. Its core capital ratio totaled 12.77% on Dec. 31, comfortably above the 9.26% industry average, according to the FDIC.
The company isn't the first community bank to create a national digital small business brand. It's following in the footsteps of the $9 billion-asset Liberty Bank in Middletown, Connecticut. Liberty
