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You want to throw your hat into the banking ring—but is it even possible to plant roots in such a difficult industry? Don't worry! Many community-oriented banks are opening across the country. With careful planning, the task of opening a bank might not be as impossible as you think.

3

Make sure you have the starting capital.

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  1. [1] This money can come from various places. If your board of directors are community business owners, they might be willing to invest the money. Other sources of capital include private equity funds, founders groups, a bank holding company, supporting financial institutions, and special funding available for community banks.
    • Starting capital ensures all the banks operations and gives the bank a certain amount of collateral.
    • Capital guidelines are found through the primary regulator, either Federal Reserve, FDIC, or OCC. [2]
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4

Create a business summary plan.

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  1. This may require a three to five year business plan and projection.
    • You need to demonstrate that a new bank would profit. Showing the plans for growth shows investors what they can expect as a return on their investment (ROI).
    • Before you can open a bank, you have to prove you've done research into your competitor's businesses and that you can either come up with a comparable product or somehow provide a beneficial service no one else has thought up yet.
6

Establish a risk management infrastructure.

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9

Find and purchase a place.

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  1. It's of vital important for you to familiarize yourself with all potential customers and competitors around you. Ideally, look for a place with smooth traffic, a position with a great deal of markets and residential buildings, and a location that doesn't have a lot of competition. Make sure there is enough room for:
    • At least three personal banker offices
    • A seating area
    • An inside teller area
    • A drive-thru teller
    • A vault. This can be accessible to both the tellers and deposit box customers, or the bank can house separate vaults. The vault needs to be far into the bank, not near the door.
    • An internal and an external ATM
    • A security guard station
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12

Establish what the bank will offer.

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  1. If you are striving for a community bank approach, offer:
    • Checking
    • Savings
    • Mortgage Loans
    • Small Business Loans
    • Investment and Planning
    • CDs and other short/long-term savings methods
    • If you are striving for a larger industrial bank, to the above options you will add:
    • Private wealth and investment management
    • Commercial loans - small (less than $1 Million), mid (between $1 Million and $5 Million) and large Targets (above $5 Million in revenue)
    • Commercial DDAs
    • International Banking
    • Online banking

Glossary of Banking Business Terms

Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Is a bank a profitable business?
    Community Answer
    If the bank turns out well, it can turn out to be a very profitable business, However, keep in mind that there is lots of competition from experienced banks that have been around for longer. Also, if you want to start a new bank from scratch, you need to have a lot of money.
  • Question
    Is there a minimum age I need to be before starting a bank?
    Community Answer
    In most jurisdictions, it 18 years or older.
  • Question
    Do I have to have a bachelor's degree to open a bank?
    Community Answer
    Consider getting a bachelor's or MBA before starting a bank. In most cases an MBA will suffice to teach you enough to know how to run a financial business. Surround yourself by people who are already well experienced in banking, people whose advice you trust.
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      Tips

      • Take it global. Introducing your company to the public means garnering more money, as people are willing to purchase stock in your company.
      • Have officers from the bank make it a regular practice to go to the high schools and elementary schools in the community to teach the next generation the importance of savings and investments. This gets your bank involved in the community and helps build a reputation.
      • Try to have a regional overseer financial group that monitors all other groups’ efforts. Have that group report up to you. Checks and balances are important and establish the important trust between your bank and the community investing with you.
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      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      Although opening a bank is a complicated process, you can get started by determining what type of bank you should open based on the services you’d like to offer. For example, if you’d like to offer personalized service to people who currently have to deal with large, institutional banks, consider opening a community bank. Once you know what kind of bank you want to open, create a business plan to show how investors will get a return on their money, and start looking for potential investors, like private equity funds or founders groups. To learn more, like how to find the right location for your bank, keep reading!

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        Mar 6, 2017

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