ST. GEORGE — Washington County is one step closer to having its own locally headquartered bank.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Utah Department of Financial Institutions recently granted conditional approval of an application by organizers of Bank of St. George for federal deposit insurance and a state banking charter. When it commences operation, the proposed institution will become Utah’s first startup bank since 2008, when Town & Country Bank opened in St. George.
The new bank will be led by CEO Bruce Jensen, President and Chief Credit Officer West Martin and CFO Cody Bateman. Jensen and Martin established and managed Town & Country Bank until it was successfully sold in 2017.
In a press release from Bank of St. George, Jensen said they plan on being a full-service community bank, offering “white glove” concierge banking for customers, as well as a host of leading-edge digital solutions.
“We plan to be the clear choice for banking, whether customers desire unparalleled traditional service, innovative bank technology, or both,” he said. “Our concierge approach is sort of like ‘private banking’ for every customer.”
Jensen is a former Utah Business CEO of the Year and winner of multiple banker of the year awards from different industry groups. While at Town & Country, the bank consistently ranked among the nation’s top performing financial institutions and was awarded Best of State in the banking category and overall Best of State Statue winner. It was also the subject of a semester-long case study for an MBA High Performing Organizations class.
Martin was responsible for winning several Small Business Administration Top Lender awards for the bank, and Bateman has served as chief financial officer at two other community banks, including holding a position as a member of the board of directors at one of those institutions.
Jensen said Bank of St. George hopes to open by midyear after its required capital of $18 million is raised and when its core processing system can be implemented.
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