Since January 1, 2023, 475 5-Star community banks have opened nearly 600 branch offices.

Those with four or more new “organic” branches during 2023/2024 are highlighted in this article.

Those with two or three new branches can be found on page 5 of  this week's Jumbo Rate News.

New 5-Star Bank Branch Coming Your Way?

Possibly. New bank branches don’t always get news coverage and we think they should. At least we think there are some worthy of a shout-out.

Since January 1, 2023, 475 5-Star community banks have opened nearly 600 branch offices. Ninety of those community banks opened two or more branches in that timeframe. The 65 that opened either two or three full-service branches (without the assistance of an acquisition) can be found on page 5. (We have also made a note of the most recent acquisition made by each, if any.)

The 5-Star community banks with four or more new “organic” branches during 2023/2024 include:

• 5-Star Riverview Bank, Vancouver, WA opened the most with 10 new offices. Seven are in Washington and three in Oregon (all in 2023). While many of these new branches are in metropolises, others are located in more rural areas.

One new office, for example, is located in Stevenson, WA (pop. 1,612 in 2023). While less than an hour from both Vancouver, WA and Portland International Airport (OR),  only one other bank branch can be found in Stevenson. (It belongs to the 4-Star rated Umpqua Bank, OR.) In fact, if you mention the word “bank” in Stevenson, locals will more likely think you are referring to the banks of the Columbia River, than a financial institution. Residents and tourists alike, will surely be happy to find another bank in town.

•  In December 2023, 5-Star First Southern Bank, Florence, AL opened a new office in Texarkana, AR. This, its second branch opening  of 2023, would be its fifth branch office. It also marked its first venture outside of Alabama. This year, First Southern Bank opened three more offices, one each in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

These five new offices bring the bank’s total to nine. Clearly intent on growth, First Southern Bank has increased its asset size more than 80% in the past four years.

• All of 5-Star BayFirst National Bank, Saint Petersburg, FL’s 12 branch offices are located on the western side of the Sunshine State. Its timing has not always been ideal (as we noted last August):

“BayFirst entered Hillsborough County in March 2020 with its first Tampa branch (just before the COVID lockdown). It opened another in its home county of Pinellas in November 2021. In the past year, it opened three more in Hillsborough (1) and Manatee (2) counties .” - JRN 40:33

Earlier this year, BayFirst opened its 12th office (its fourth in Sarasota) just months before Hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through. The Florida bank took it in stride, not even a mention of either storm can be found in its third quarter financial results. Perhaps its timing  issues make BayFirst’s slogan more poignant: Here For What’s Next.®

• 5-Star Legacy Bank & Trust Co., Mountain Grove, MO didn’t just add branches; it also built a new 40,000 square-foot corporate headquarter building in Springfield. While Legacy Bank is one of only three Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) in the “Show-Me” state, its reach does not end at the state line. Legacy ventured into Oklahoma in 2022, then continued on into Texas in 2023. Today, it operates through ten branch offices and is intent on continued growth.

Since the end of 2020, Legacy Bank has: added six offices, doubled the number of employees and tripled its asset size – from $538 million to $1.7 billion. It plans to continue building on that momentum.

•  5-Star North Country Savings Bank, Canton, NY has been serving St. Lawrence County and the North Country of NY for over 100 years, but it was status quo for decades. Then, on June 1, 2023, North Country opened its first new branch in over 50 years—located on West Main Street in uptown Malone.

After getting its feet wet, the bank followed  up this year with three new lending offices. They are located in Plattsburgh, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake. In the past, the FDIC would not categorize loan production offices (LPOs) as “full-service”, and for good reason.

They weren’t. However, these new LPOs are equipped with ITMs. An ITM is an interactive ATM. The customer can actually stand at the machine (card inserted), speak to a live teller, and conduct normal teller transactions. While the main objective of these branches is to produce loans, they are full-service... as long as you can get to the machine. No drive-thru.

• Finally, 5-Star Bell Bank, Fargo, ND (which also does business as HealthcareBank),  added four new offices this summer, including a brand new, grand headquarters in downtown Fargo. It now operates through 31 branch offices in AZ-5; MN-16; ND-10.

The largest of the banks we are highlighting this week, Bell Bank has more than doubled its size in the past four years. It is quickly approaching the $14 billion asset mark. While it doesn’t have naming rites to the stadium, Bell Bank is the official bank of the Arizona Cardinals football team. That, and other similar partnerships, help bring in more customers, at least in the Grand Canyon State.

Its HealthcareBank division, established in 2005, is also a growth niche. Offering Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to both businesses and consumers, HealthcareBank has reportedly become one of the top 10 HSA custodians in the nation.