At a time when a number of financial institutions are losing millions or closing their doors, 23 business leaders stayed the course they'd chosen three years ago and created a new West Michigan bank.
Grand River Bank, 4471 Wilson SW, Grandville, opened its doors April 30 with capital of $17 million and 10 high-level management personnel.
President and CEO Dave Blossey expects to add tellers and other positions as the bank's business increases. He says Grand River Bank launched with its high level management in place due to requirements by banking regulatory agencies.
"Those people have to be approved by the regulatory agencies and they have to have the experience to be able to open a bank," Blossey says. Several members of the management team, including Blossey, have between 20 and 30 years of experience in lending.
The organizers designed the bank to cater to the needs of small businesses. The bank offers consumer loans and mortgages, but the primary focus is to service small businesses through electronic banking, a service Blossey calls the "cornerstone of our banking system." That system includes remote deposit, which allows account holders to scan checks and deposit them through the bank's computer instead of taking the checks to the bank.
"We didn't really realize our timing would be this good," Blossey says. "Everybody sees the gloom and doom on the news, but from our perspective we have a clean balance sheet. When we opened, we obviously didn't have any loans on our books, so we don't have to worry about foreclosing on someone's home or business. The quarterly reports of other banks all talk about the losses they're having; so it's a huge financial advantage for us because we don't have to write off any loans."
Source: Dave Blossey, Grand River Bank; Craig Clark, Clark Communications
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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