October 22, 2008
With economic times the way they are now, some potential investors wonder why they should invest in a bank, according to Gerald Lewis, CEO of NOA Bank of Duluth, which is in organization.
"It was a strange dichotomy putting this bank together," he said.
This is not his first bank startup, but is the fourth. Residents of North Fulton may remember him for opening American Trust Bank in Roswell in 2003. He previously helped form State Bank & Trust in Pinehurst and First Port City Bank in Bainbridge as well. He has been a senior lender and spent nine years working for the U.S. Treasury Department as National Bank Examiner.
"This has been by far the most challenging and it's primarily because of raising the requisite capital," Lewis said. "It was much more difficult than it has ever been. And for a good reason. There's a finite amount of capital in the marketplace."
Investors wonder why they should invest a bank. They see banks every day in trouble on a national scale.
In general, new banks have fresh capital and they don't have the weight of problem assets that other banks have, he said.
"We can spend more time looking after some good customers than we spend looking backwards trying to work out of some problem situations that we may have engaged in a couple of years ago," Lewis said.
Why?
"We weren't here a couple of years ago," he said.
That makes NOA Bank proactive, rather than reactive, he said.
"That's the same for all fairly new banks," Lewis said.
NOA Bank awaits an examination that will be delivered by the state Division of Banking and Finance by the end of this month. If all goes well, NOA Bank will shift from being "in organization" and will open shortly thereafter. By law and regulation, he can't give an exact date.
"But we are very, very encouraged. We are starting to put on staff, starting all the necessities," he said.
Several new staff members started last week, with more starting this week. Experience won't be a problem, as all have experience in banking in existing jobs. Most even know the core data processor to be used by NOA Bank.
NOA Bank is an independent community bank. Its capital subscription was expected to be approximately $24 million to start.
"We will cater primarily, but not entirely, to the Korean community," he said.
He anticipates 60 percent of the business from the Korean community, primarily in the form of loans to small business people.
"The balance of the business that we do will be with the community in general," he said.
"But our orientation is definitely Asian. We've got some good competition in that market, and we see it as a growing, albeit probably a bit under served market. That's what the attraction was," Lewis said.
NOA Bank is about a quarter of a mile to the east of the Super H Mart Shopping Center on Pleasant Hill Road, on its north side.
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