De novo institutions

Endeavor Bank in San Diego aims to be the third new bank to open this year. There is hope that as many as eight new institutions could open in 2018.

While increasing de novo activity is encouraging, the processes of chartering a bank and applying for deposit insurance are more onerous, lengthy and costly than they need to be.

Consolidation has led to too few community banks, which is amplified in areas where capital is needed most.

David Dotherow, CEO of the newly formed Winter Park National Bank, stresses the need for strong management and a straightforward business plan when applying for a charter.

A few years after co-founding Level One Bank, CEO Patrick Fehring decided to survey his employees. It turned into a wake-up call.

Studio Bank aims to become the first de novo in Nashville in nearly a decade.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika is questioning the sincerity of recent steps by the FDIC to encourage de novo applications.

After a long dry spell in the industry, de novo banks are coming back, thanks to renewed interest from both investors and regulatory agencies, according to Tom Michaud, CEO of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

In the midst of a public feud between federal regulators on the right process for chartering new banks, Federal Financial Analytics argues that regulators should instead focus on loosening capital standards for new industry entrants.

While acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika's criticism that the FDIC is hampering the creation of new banks may have had merit in the past, the agency has fixed many problems.