De Novo Planned for Amish Country Clears Regulatory Hurdle

Pennsylvania Dutch country could get the first de novo bank to open in the U.S. in more than two years.

The proposed Bank of Bird-in-Hand, named for the town near Lancaster, Pa., where it will be based, has received conditional approval for its de novo application from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, the bank's organizers said last week. The prospective bank will begin to raise capital later this month through an offering of common stock.

The bank's organizers expect to open for business in by the end of this year, pending a successful capital raise and the approval of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. To win approval, a proposed de novo must convince regulators that it caters to an underserved market.

"Based on the feedback that we have received from the local community and prospective investors, we expect our capital raise to be very successful," Brent Peters, the proposed bank's president and chief executive, said in a press release. "The board of directors and organizers believe that a community bank based on relationship banking for commercial, retail, and agricultural customers will be well received in our market specifically and in Lancaster County generally."

In January, a group of investors announced that they had raised $20 million to create a bank that would cater to Amish and Mennonite farmers and small businesses in Pennsylvania Dutch country.