Upstart Bank locates Headquarters in DT Harrisburg
Startup Graystone Bank to open 3 branches
Thursday, November 10, 2005
BY TOM DOCHAT
Of The Patriot-News
Graystone Bank isn't satisfied with just one.
The startup banking company will open three branches next week, including one in downtown Harrisburg at 112 Market St., across from the Dauphin County Courthouse.
The people behind the bank say they have received a groundswell of support so far, and they hope the excitement carries over into their future growth plans.
"One of the things that has been really rewarding to see is how our former customers, our former employees have rallied around us," said Andrew Samuel, chairman, president and CEO of the de novo bank. "There's just a genuine sense of excitement around Graystone."
Samuel has a long-time banking history in south-central Pennsylvania, recently serving as CEO of the central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland regions for Sovereign Bank. He left Sovereign in June, five months after Sovereign took over Waypoint Financial Corp.
The Graystone Bank management includes a number of other former Sovereign executives who, like Samuel, were once part of Waypoint. "Our mission is to really bring together a group of passionate, skillful bankers that are committed to the community, that know the community," Samuel said.
Graystone's tagline is "your life, your bank." David Hornberger, senior vice president and commercial loan manager, said, "We really want this bank to be about the people, and we want them to feel this is their bank and they have a vested interest."
Graystone began in June after Samuel and two other managers left Sovereign. Since then, Graystone has raised $16 million to $18 million in capital, double the $8 million required, Samuel said. It received approvals from the state and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in a five-month, five-day period, an expedited time frame that Samuel said is "unheard of."
It typically takes 12 to 18 months to go through the approval process for a de novo bank, he said. "The support has been phenomenal."
Most de novo banks will start off with one branch, but Graystone is opening two Lancaster branches and the downtown Harrisburg office next week. A branch near the Park City Mall will open on Tuesday. A branch along Route 23 in Leola, northeast of Lancaster, will open on Wednesday. The Harrisburg branch opens next Thursday.
Graystone's administrative offices are housed on the third floor at 112 Market St. The company has 35 employees -- 16 in the Lancaster region and 19 in Harrisburg.
Samuel said he wasn't planning to start a new bank when Sovereign took over Waypoint in January. By late April, he knew he wouldn't be staying at Sovereign. After completion of the Sovereign/Waypoint integration, Samuel began noticing that a number of key personnel were leaving. "I have a passion for people," he said. "And frankly I couldn't take listening to our employees and their frustrations, hour after hour."
Once he decided to leave, Samuel said he needed to figure out what he wanted to do next. He knew he wanted to remain in the area. And he knew he didn't want to be part of another banking institution that also could be acquired. So that pretty much ruled out any other bank except a new one.
Starting his own bank, he said, was "the right thing to do with the right group of investors, directors and employees."
He had little trouble finding the people. Jeffrey Renninger, president of Graystone's Lancaster region, said he, Samuel, Hornberger and others have a close relationship and they were openly discussing the opportunities they had elsewhere. "We had a good relationship that we could share with each other what our concerns were, and the fact that we weren't happy, and we were all looking at other opportunities," Renninger said. "And we all said, 'What can we do together?'"
Graystone Bank was the answer.
Samuel said Graystone will be an "entrepreneurial driven bank that has a passion for the community. I think that is going to come through very clear as we go forward."
The bank will focus on the middle-market retail customer, small and medium sized businesses, and not-for-profits. He said the not-for-profit market will be an important focus of the Harrisburg office.
"We are the only bank in the marketplace that is specifically designed and has people dedicated, a product set dedicated, a pricing schedule dedicated, to the non-profit community," Samuel said. "That's a market we're very focused on, and we believe being in Harrisburg makes a major statement to that community."
Samuel said he expects significant growth in the first 60 days, and the bank has plans for more branches in the ensuing years. Graystone wants to have branches along Linglestown Road and the West Shore/Camp Hill area by next summer. After that, the bank has its sights on Elizabethtown, Lititz and Dillsburg, he said.
"We do have a very aggressive growth strategy," he said.
Graystone, like other smaller community banks, will try to fill a void created through banking mergers,. Samuel noted the region has experienced a number of banking mergers in the past 15 years and "every one of those acquirers says they're going to be a community bank, things won't change, people will remain, products won't change, fees won't change.
"And you know what happens after six months."
TOM DOCHAT: 255-8216 or
tdochat@patriot-news.com