Tribe-owned lender marks first year
After one year of business, Bank2 is ready to grow even bigger.
The bank, owned by the Chickasaw Nation, aims to be the most successful American Indian bank in the country during the next five years, and the most successful minority-owned bank in eight years.
Ross Hill, president and chief executive of Bank2, spoke Thursday about the fledgling bank as part of a presentation to the Tulsa chapter of the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma.
Bank2 wasn't started with the idea that it would be a bank for the Chickasaw government or the Chickasaw people, he said.
"The idea behind the bank was to diversify the business investments of the Chickasaw people," Hill said.
He noted that the Chickasaw Nation owns about 24 businesses, including motels, convenience stores, radio stations and newspapers.
The vast majority, or about 80 percent, of the bank's customers are not American Indian, Hill said.
"The bank does not rely on any business from the Chickasaw Nation," he said. "We set out to become strong and profitable without relying on business from the nation. We have no loans with the nation. We do not provide any financial services to the nation at this point other than one depository relationship that began in September."
The Chickasaw Legislature appropriated $5.3 million to form the bank, and the Chickasaw Banc Holding Co. was formed in March 2001.
Last January, the holding company acquired First Bancorp and First State Bank in Davidson and bought the Oklahoma City branch of First National Bank. The company then changed its name and moved its headquarters to Oklahoma City.
Today, Bank2 has one location in Oklahoma City but has its eye on future branch sites in Tulsa, the Dallas market and the Chickasaw Nation, which is comprised of 13 counties, Hill said.
So far, the bank says, it has made more than 450 loans totaling over $25 million.
Bank2 is 100 percent owned by the Chickasaw Nation, which owns 51,000 shares.
Most other American Indian banks have been owned by individuals, and over time tribes have acquired some or all interest in them.
"But very few have actually capitalized a bank and started one like we have," Hill said.
There are 14 American Indian-owned banks in the country, and eight of those are in Oklahoma, he said.
With an emphasis on being "twice the bank," Bank2 offers many financial products, including checking services, savings accounts, home loans, certificates of deposit, commercial and consumer loans, small business loans and development loans, to name a few. The state-chartered bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The bank started last year with assets of $7.5 million and ended the year with about $28 million, Hill said. He would like to see the bank grow to $40 million in assets at the end of this year and more than $70 million within five years.
Last April, the bank formed a community development investment company -- Chickasaw Community Development LLC. Its purpose is to provide assistance for low- and moderate-income housing in the Oklahoma City area and the Chickasaw Nation, and to promote better-paying jobs in those areas.
Bank2 also has a mortgage subsidiary and plans to start operating an insurance company by the second or third quarter, Hill said.
"We've already begun the process of diversifying the bank into other fields and into other endeavors with the whole idea of creating a financial service company," Hill said.
Bank2 also has a scholarship and internship program to help train American Indian students for careers in the banking service industry.
