North Carolina is one step closer to having its first new bank in nine years.
Community Bank of the Carolinas in Winston-Salem, N.C., said in a press release on Thursday that it had received conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
“This news represents a major step for our bank,” Skip Brown, the proposed bank's chairman and CEO, said in the release. “Starting a new bank is a long process so it means a great deal when the FDIC grants this conditional approval.”
The FDIC required Community Bank of the Carolinas to raise at least $25 million, earn a bank charter from the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks and stay within the parameters of its business plan for three years. Organizers announced last month that they had raised $13.6 million.
The de novo's public offering is set to expire on Feb. 28, though organizers have the ability to extend the deadline.
“We’ve had good momentum and a great deal of interest in our stock offering,” Brown said. “Investors believe the time is right to bring back community banking. Many customers are simply being underserved by big banks.”
American Bank & Trust, a de novo effort in Monroe, N.C., received approval from the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks and the North Carolina Banking Commission in November. The group still needs to obtain FDIC insurance before it can open.
Last month, Ohio State Bank in Columbus received FDIC approval. Organizers aim to open the state’s first new bank since 2007.
