Traverse, Mich.-based Sovereign Bank filed a deposit insurance application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on May 10 seeking to open a community bank that would serve Grand Traverse County and neighboring Benzie and Leelanau counties.
The de novo expects to open in the last quarter of 2022 or first quarter of 2023 and will offer a range of commercial-focused loans, and to a lesser extent, home mortgages and secured consumer loans.
Organizers see gap in market
Sovereign seeks to fill what it sees as a void left by larger regional and national banks in its area. In its application, the organizers said two local community banks serve the counties that Sovereign expects to focus on, and neither is in Grand Traverse County, which would represent the applicant's primary service area.
Greggory Bigger is the proposed chairperson, CEO and president. Sovereign expects to raise between $18 million and $22 million in capital to begin operations.
2022 applications tally
So far in 2022, 10 de novo applications have been filed, one of which was withdrawn. Bloomington, Minn.-based EntreBank was the only bank application approved by the FDIC in the first four months of the year. EntreBank started operations in March.
Meanwhile, two other holding-company-sponsored applications were filed by organizers of digital banks.
De novo openings
In other news, Moultrie, Ga.-based Moultrie Bank & Trust began operations May 9. This marks the fifth de novo opening in 2022, with two digital banks opening in Texas and Florida.
West region sees largest number of bank applicants
Recently, a large number of bank applications were filed by organizers based in the West region. From the bank applications filed since 2021 that remain in the pipeline, excluding state-approved bank applications, seven are pending and two received conditional approval from regulators.
The Southwest region, at the same time, has six pending applications. These include three digital banks: Avon, Colo.-based Battle Bank NA; Salt Lake, Utah-based Thrivent Bank; and Midvale, Utah-based Rakuten Bank America.
