Organizers of
The group said in a press release Friday that its application had received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The organizers must raise at least $30 million in capital.
While the coronavirus outbreak had interrupted a capital-raising process that was initially expected to close on April 30, organizers plan to resume their efforts with a targeted completion date of Oct. 31.
“These conditional approvals are significant in our journey to start a new bank that will focus on small to medium businesses in Chattanooga,” Hamp Johnston, who would be the bank’s president and CEO, said in the release.
“The approvals allow us to move forward with our plans to open the bank later this year,” Johnston added. “We feel confident that all requirements for final approval will be achieved.”
“Recent events have not changed the long-term need for RockPoint Bank,” said Bill Kilbride, an organizer and proposed director. “We have an opportunity to fill a void in the local banking landscape and believe it is more important now than ever.”
In addition to Johnston, organizers have said the new bank will also be led by Patrick Jensen as chief financial officer, Camille Daniel as chief lending officer and Kerry Riley as chief credit officer.
