Independent Banker - March 2018 - 24

With Interest
Walking the talk-Blue Gate Bank director of banking Chris Walsh and relationship manager Brian Lange work together on a loan request.
because of the consolidations of community
banks and the economy. "
Hatching a plan
As the market began to recover,
Walsh and 15 other industry-veteran
cofounders set to work developing
and writing a business plan and a
marketing plan, defining policies and
scouting for a location. Regulatory
hurdles were high- " a difficult
process, " Walsh laments. " I think we
submitted 2,000 pages to the FDIC to
be approved. Unheard of. The West
Coast FDIC has been great. Back in
the East in Washington, they haven't
been transparent. " The pages were
sent for approval in February 2016;
the bank received state approval
that August and FDIC approval
that September.
Approval, however, wouldn't mean
a thing unless they could raise the
necessary funds. Another California
de novo had received its FDIC
approval before Blue Gate Bank, but
due to a lack of required capital, it
never opened. Walsh says Blue Gate
Bank was extremely fortunate to
have a family committed to community
banking that were investors,
" Even your best clients
are going, 'Really?
Chris, I love you, but
why don't you call me
back in a year when
you're doing well and
making money.' "
-CHRIS WALSH,
BLUE GATE BANK
including Bill Gallaher and his
daughter, Molly Gallaher Flater, who
provided the majority of the $30 million
it raised to get off the ground.
Investors who are committed to
community banking are rare, he says,
because returns take years.
To illustrate just how rare, Walsh
24 ICBA Independent Banker March 2018
offers an example. " In today's economy,
say you are a wise investor, or
you're a very liquid, high-net-worth
individual. You have $5 million to
invest, and you have three places to
go. Do you go to the stock market;
do you go to real estate, either commercial
real estate or single-family;
or do you invest in a bank and hope
in seven years you'll get your money
back with a good return? Where
would you put your money? It's not
going to be in a bank, " he says.
" The important part in starting a
bank is having an investor or a family
that understands community banking, "
he adds. " Molly and Bill truly
understand community banking and
really believe in community banking
... so that made it easier for us to
raise capital, because it came from
one source. "
Though he has 37 years in the
industry, including an eight-year
tenure at the roughly $1 billion-asset
Sunwest Bank in Irvine, Calif.,

Independent Banker - March 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - March 2018

Table of Contents
Independent Banker - March 2018 - Intro
Independent Banker - March 2018 - Cover1
Independent Banker - March 2018 - Cover2
Independent Banker - March 2018 - Table of Contents
Independent Banker - March 2018 - 2
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