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Conference of State Bank Supervisors

2016 Community Banking Competition Case Study

Freedom Bank: A Case Study

University of Missouri-Kansas City

Students: Maria Davis, Jacob Renner, Dakota Sommerfield, and Clara Stahl

Advisor: Dr. William Keeton

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I. Executive Summary

Freedom Bank is a community bank located in Johnson County, Kansas. Beloved by the

community, Freedom Bank reinvented the traditional banking customer interface to feel like a

coffee shop. Freedom Bank specializes in high-quality commercial lending to small businesses.

Non-Farm, Non-Residential Commercial Real Estate and C&I loans account for 70% of

Freedom Bank’s total loan portfolio. The financial success of small businesses in the region

directly contributes to the financial success of Freedom Bank. This symbiotic relationship sets

management’s philosophy for interacting with businesses in the community. Freedom Bank’s

ability to manage credit risk has helped them minimize losses and generate profits from high-

quality credit, evidenced by returns on assets and equity that consistently outperform the bank’s

peers.

It is expected that Freedom Bank’s continued growth and success into the future will not

only make them into a more well-known and respected bank, but also allow them to truly serve

their local community. Their three main stakeholders are employees, customers, and

shareholders. By ensuring that these three parts of the bank are in equilibrium, they achieve

“freedom”, which is the essence of small businesses’ spirit and core values. Freedom Bank is the

epitome of relationship lending and community banking done right, and upon further analysis of

their financials, management, and community involvement, you will see why.

II. Introduction

The Kansas City metropolitan area consists of 15 county districts and is situated on the

border of Missouri and Kansas. With a population of over 2 million and more than 50,000

privately held businesses, Kansas City residents have diverse banking needs. These needs are

met largely by locally owned banks, which control 76% of the Kansas City banking market.

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Despite a nationwide trend toward consolidation in the banking industry (FDIC, Community

Banking Study i), Kansas City is home to more banking operations per capita than any other

major city in the Midwest as a result of the late adoption of interstate branching provisions in

Kansas and Missouri ("KC Banking: Behind the Numbers"). Freedom Bank is a community bank

located in Johnson County, Kansas. Johnson County is one of the most affluent counties in the

nation and is the second largest in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

A community bank is usually defined as a bank with less than $1 billion in assets.

However, the FDIC notes that community banks are also characterized by limited geographic

scope, local ownership, local control, and local decision making. As of 2011, community banks

comprised 92% of FDIC-insured banks and 95% of all U.S. banking organizations (FDIC,

Community Banking Study i). Freedom Bank held $164 million in assets in 2015 (Uniform Bank

Performance Report) and utilizes a relationship banking strategy characteristic of community

banks (FDIC, Community Banking Study i). Chartered in 2005, Freedom Bank is a single-branch

de novo bank that weathered the Financial Crisis of 2008, a period in which 12.6% of de novo

banks chartered between 2000 and 2008 failed and 17.3% exited by merger or liquidation (Lee

and Yom).

Freedom Bank’s small size, highly customer-focused management, and high-quality

credit policies are critical components of its competitive success. They follow a relationship-

based lending strategy, which gives Freedom Bank an advantage over larger competitors. Large

banks have some advantages in transaction-based lending that relies on quantitative information

such as financial ratios, collateral, or credit scores. However, small banks like Freedom Bank

have advantages in relationship-based lending assessed on contextual or qualitative information,

such as the owner’s character and the demands of the local community (Brainard). Freedom

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Bank is able to compete with banks of similar size in the Kansas City metropolitan area through

its specialization in high quality commercial lending to small businesses. Other banks in the area

specialize in residential real estate lending; therefore, Freedom Bank is unique to this area. Of

the more than 50,000 private-sector businesses in the Kansas City metropolitan area, 97% are

small businesses, making community banks like Freedom Bank essential components of the local

economy (“51 Areas Have More than 25,000 Small Businesses”). Our analysis of Freedom Bank

for this case study assesses their effects on the community, their specific management practices,

and their overall financial performance, highlighting the importance of small business lending.

III. Impact of Small Business Lending on the Community

As Freedom Bank nears its 10th anniversary, it has become an integral part of the Greater

Kansas City community and economic environment. The bank’s management team has a

thorough understanding of the local economy and has tailored the bank’s focus to suit the

market. As CEO Kurt Knutson explains, “The Kansas City market is made up predominantly of

privately held businesses. We’re not a Fortune 500 town. We do have a few large companies–for

example, Sprint, Garmin, and Hallmark–but for the most part, businesses in Kansas City are

privately held” (Knutson). Small businesses in particular rely on community banks for

commercial credit. “As of 2011, community banks held 14% of banking industry assets, but 46%

of the industry’s small loans to farms and businesses” (FDIC, Community Banking Study, ch. 5-

1). It is also estimated that 51% of small business loans originated from community banks in

2014 (Lux and Greene 11). Recognizing a need for a locally owned, locally managed bank to

serve Kansas City’s market of more than 50,000 small businesses, Freedom Bank’s lending team

extends commercial credit almost exclusively to customers located in and around the Kansas

City metropolitan area, supporting economic growth in the local community in a symbiotic

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relationship. Small business lending drives a critical component of the United States economy.

The importance of small businesses is highlighted by the majority of new jobs that they create,

which was approximately half of all jobs created in November 2014. Access to credit provided

by community banks like Freedom Bank is crucial to the success of these small businesses (Lux

and Greene 26).

Community banks are heavily dependent on the success of the local economies in which

they operate. “Banks are successful because their customers are successful. We are a reflection

of our customer and our community,” says Kansas State Bank Commissioner Deryl Schuster

(Schuster). Community banks foster economic growth and help to ensure that the financial

resources of the local community are put to work by carrying out the basic banking functions of

lending and deposit gathering on a local scale (FDIC, Community Banking Study, ch. 5).

Personal investment in the community leads to increased accountability for business decisions.

Accountability, in a community atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding, provides a

competitive advantage for community banks over larger banks, which may be far removed from

their customers and their businesses. Freedom Bank’s management team has virtually no

anonymity; the nature of the bank’s commercial lending business demands repeated face-to-face

interactions with customers and extensive engagement in the local community. CEO Kurt

Knutson explains,

We’re not taking deposits from one area and loaning it out in another part of the country. We’re loaning it out here. We don’t have the anonymity that you can find in larger organizations…This is the community that we live in. This is the community our kids go to school in…We’re doing things side-by-side with our customers and so we have a higher degree of accountability in the same fashion that our customers do. (Knutson) Building community relationships has been at the forefront of Freedom Bank’s

operations since its inception. Bank founders have redesigned the traditional banking experience

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to better meet customer needs and establish Freedom Bank as a space for community

engagements. As CEO Kurt Knutson explains, “From a banking perspective, the retail delivery

model has been broken for quite a while” (Knutson). The bank environment has traditionally

centered around a line of teller windows with velvet rope barriers between lanes as the only

means of separation between customers. Tellers typically have only a small fraction of the

windows open for service, and they monitor both the bank’s drive-through and lobby

simultaneously. This bank design is not conducive to the privacy often desired while conducting

financial business and gives an impression of distraction and inefficiency. In contrast, Freedom

Bank’s innovative Guest Plaza design is much more customer-friendly.

What we tried to do was look at it as a customer and say, ‘What do we not like about that delivery vehicle?’ and then start from scratch and design it out… [We’ve] created an environment that’s much more vibrant. When you come into the Guest Plaza, you’re greeted immediately. We’ve made the space warm and inviting. (Knutson)

Freedom Bank’s website touts the absence of velvet ropes. There are no tellers in sight in the

Guest Plaza. Rather than through a traditional teller-line format, all bank transactions are

conducted privately in small transaction spaces via a remote teller system that utilizes video

technology for communication. Sound-proof locked doors separate these private rooms from the

main plaza, ensuring uninterrupted privacy for customers.

Freedom Bank’s innovative Guest Plaza not only repairs the broken retail delivery model

of traditional banks, but it serves as a “third place” for many customers as well. “The phrase

‘third places’ derives from considering our homes to be the ‘first’ places in our lives, and our

workplaces the ‘second.’ [Third places] host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily

anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work” (Oldenburg). The

Guest Plaza is a comfortable space where customers can enjoy free coffee and snacks while

networking with other customers, using the Wi-Fi zone and guest computer for getting their

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work done, catching up on news from the numerous magazines and newspapers that are always

kept current, or taking a break to play Rock Band on the PlayStation 4. The Guest Plaza also

hosts community events in a relaxed atmosphere. As customer Whitney Elliott, CEO of Stallard

Technologies, Inc. (STI), explains,

We love a good Freedom Bank event. It’s a place where, because we are so involved in the community, and because of the relationships that Freedom Bank has with so many customers and companies and small business owners here, I consider so many of my good friends to be people that you just run into at the bank.” (Elliott)

Aside from creating a positive customer experience, the community interactions fostered by the

bank’s design are a key component of Freedom Bank’s relationship banking strategy.

IV. Evaluation of Freedom Bank’s Management of Small Business Lending

According to Freedom Bank’s Chief Lending Officer Dave Vander Veen, “Bank

management is focused on long-term growth, which comes from adding quality loans to the

portfolio and developing long-term customer relationships” (Vander Veen). To effectively

analyze which loan opportunities are high-quality, loan officers must have a thorough

understanding of the quantitative data and the qualitative aspects of their customers’ business.

This allows for the most informed decisions, detailed financial monitoring, and swift assistance

during times of hardship. This section will explain the quantitative tools and qualitative factors

that influence Freedom Bank’s extension of credit.

Perhaps the largest threat to any bank is the risk of its assets. To maintain a sound

financial condition, Freedom Bank’s management has implemented both formal procedures and

an informal “credit culture” that reduces their exposure to three types of risk–market risk, credit

risk, and solvency risk. This section will explain these types of risk and evaluate Freedom

Bank’s strategies to mitigate them.

Market Risk

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The small business lending market is extremely diverse. Small businesses range in size

from one employee to a few hundred and are involved in nearly every industry from plumbing to

dentistry (Brainard 2). This diversity limits bank exposure to market risk from industry-

concentrated assets. The Kansas City metropolitan statistical area economy is more diversified

than that of most other U.S. cities (Bernardo). Freedom Bank only loans to local businesses,

which means they share in that diversification. The benefits of small business lending due to

increased diversification are demonstrated in a 2006 study which found that increasing loans to

small businesses lowered loan portfolio risk and resulted in decreased bank failure rates (Kolari,

Ou, and Shin 13).

Credit Risk

Freedom Bank has effective strategies to manage credit risk from initial loan evaluation

to monitoring. Freedom Bank’s loan decision and support strategy is based on procedures

outlined in Commercial Loans to Business: Reference Guide, published by Robert Morris

Associates (Knutson). For example, a chapter on the loan decision side entitled “Business Risk

Analysis” explains how to evaluate a business's cost advantages over competition, systems for

controlling production and distribution, and control over prices to maintain margins (Robert

Morris Associates 15-19). Traditional financial statement analysis plays an important role in loan

decisions. Borrowers’ financial health is estimated through sales and operating profit, makeup of

current assets, type and time structure of liabilities, and ending retained earnings (Robert Morris

Associates 39-41). Business risk and financial health are two of the most important factors that

determine a borrower’s ability to repay debt. Once these have been analyzed, loan officers at

Freedom Bank consider the information within the decision making framework outlined in the

exhibit below.

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If the analysis shows ability to pay back a potential loan, indicates low overall business

risk, and inspires confidence in management’s ability to execute their business, loan officers can

then develop a loan structure. Freedom Bank’s management will only sign off on a loan if it

meets the customer’s needs–not just the bank’s. Freedom Bank’s philosophy is to structure loans

to help a business grow, because “as they grow, we grow” (Knutson).

Solvency Risk

A bank’s main protection against insolvency is high capital. Freedom Bank’s strategy to

increase capital is to avoid large loan losses by maintaining credit quality standards despite a

decrease in supply of high-quality loans. To simultaneously increase assets, management

purchased $27.6M in securities during 2015 (Uniform Bank Performance Report). This is not

abandoning businesses, but instead supplementing Freedom Bank’s growth safely, so that they

can continue to make the high-quality loans. Large loan losses not only eat away capital but

make it difficult for a bank to raise new capital through either selling stock or borrowing. By

using securities to diversify and supplement income, Freedom Bank can avoid these large losses.

V. Financial Performance

Freedom Bank’s careful attention to the management of its small business lending

directly translated to the bank’s financial performance. As of the end of 2015, Freedom Bank

held $164.3 million in assets. Because it specializes in commercial lending, Freedom Bank’s

assets are far more concentrated in commercial and industrial (C&I) loans and non-farm, non-

residential real estate loans in comparison to two peer groups–Peer Group 6, which is comprised

of similar-sized metro banks in the United States, and a peer group consisting of all Johnson

County Banks with assets less than $1 billion. C&I loans and non-residential real estate loans

account for 51.0% of total loans in the peer group of Johnson County banks, and 49.3% of total

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loans in Peer Group 6. In contrast, the two loan categories account for 70.3% of Freedom Bank’s

total loan portfolio. Freedom Bank focuses its lending on high-quality commercial loans rather

than residential construction and mortgage lending, unlike many of its competitors in Johnson

County, Kansas. Home mortgage loans comprise merely 13% of Freedom Bank’s total loans, in

comparison to 26% of total loans in the Johnson County peer group and 25% of total loans in

Peer Group 6 (Uniform Bank Performance Report).

C&I30%

Non-Residential Real Estate 41%

Other Commercial Real Estate12%

Home Mortgage Loans13%

All Other4%

Freedom Bank

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Within the commercial lending market (which includes C&I and Non-Farm, Non-

Residential Commercial Real Estate), Freedom Bank focuses specifically on issuing credit to

small businesses in the form of working capital lines of credit, term loans, and owner-occupied

real estate (Vander Veen, Knutson). These small business loans, typically defined as C&I loans

C&I23%

Non-Residential Real Estate28%Other Commercial Real Estate

14%

Home Mortgage Loans26%

Loans to Individuals3%

All Other6%

Johnson County Banks <$1B

C&I14%

Non-Residential Real Estate35%

Other Commercial Real Estate10%

Home Mortgage Loans25%

Loans to Individuals2%

All Other13%

Peer Group 6

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of $1 million or less, comprise more than half (51%) of Freedom Bank’s total C&I lending. As a

small community bank, Freedom Bank concentrates a much greater proportion of its commercial

lending activity in small business lending than larger banks, whose small C&I loans comprise

only 16% of total C&I lending, on average.

Freedom Bank’s total C&I lending increased steadily from founding until its seventh year

of operation. Since the 2013 peak, the bank has slightly scaled back business lending. The bank

decreased total business loans by 8.5% in 2014 and again by 1.3% in 2015 (Uniform Bank

Performance Report). The bank has also reduced small business loans (SBL), which fell by

11.7% in 2014 and 5.7% in 2015 (Call Report). The bank’s decrease in lending can be attributed

to the slower-than-expected economic growth in the U.S., which has hovered just above 2%

since the Financial Crisis of 2008 and has held back growth in Kansas City.

≤ $1 Million

51%

> $1 Million

49%

C&I Loan CompositionFreedom Bank

≤ $1 Million

16%

> $1 Million

84%

C&I Loan CompositionU.S. Banks > $1B

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0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

Freedom Bank Total C&I Loans(thousands of dollars)

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

12/31/10 12/31/11 12/31/12 12/31/13 12/31/14 12/31/15

Freedom Bank C&I Loans(thousands of dollars)

C&I Loans Total SBL

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Freedom Bank has maintained consistently conservative credit standards since before the

Financial Crisis of 2008, but the economic downturn left many small businesses unable to meet

those standards. As a result, the bank is limiting growth in small business credit rather than

sacrifice asset quality for returns. In the meantime, the bank is supplementing asset growth with

purchases of highly safe U.S. Agency securities.

-4.00%

-3.00%

-2.00%

-1.00%

0.00%

1.00%

2.00%

3.00%

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

United States GDP Growth

$0

$20,000

$40,000

$60,000

$80,000

$100,000

$120,000

$140,000

$160,000

$180,000

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Asse

ts (t

houa

nds)

Freedom Bank Asset Composition

U.S. Treasury & Agency Securities Net Loans & Leases Other

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Freedom Bank’s management strategy has effectively guided the bank through the

typically tumultuous early years of a de novo bank’s operations in addition to helping it survive

the Financial Crisis, a period during which 238 of the 629 de novo banks chartered in the five

years prior to 2008 failed or exited the market (Murphy and Wilder). Since the bank’s founding

in 2006, Freedom Bank has experienced rapid asset growth followed by a subsequent leveling

off around the fifth year of operations, a pattern typical of de novo banks (DeYoung). In

comparison to peers, Freedom Bank utilizes these assets more effectively, earning income on a

larger portion of its overall asset portfolio.

020,00040,00060,00080,000

100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000

12/31/08 12/31/09 12/31/10 12/31/11 12/31/12 12/31/13 12/31/14 12/31/15

Freedom Bank Total Assets(thousands of dollars)

90%91%92%93%94%95%96%

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Average Earning Assets to Average Assets

Freedom Bank Peer Group 6

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In addition, the bank effectively manages costs, operating with a consistently better

efficiency ratio (non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest

income) than banks in Peer Group 6. Freedom Bank’s relatively good efficiency ratio indicates

an ability to generate revenues with lower marginal overhead costs. The bank’s loan staff

provides a key advantage here, as it operates with far fewer employees than its peers (Vander

Veen).

Freedom Bank had no noncurrent loans on December 31, 2015, indicating highly

effective credit management practices (Uniform Bank Performance Report). Freedom Bank’s

impressive loan performance can be attributed to management’s focus on monitoring outstanding

small business loans to prevent defaults before they occur. This ability to issue and manage high-

quality credit has helped Freedom Bank reduce losses and generate profits, evidenced by returns

on assets and equity that generally outperform the bank’s peers.

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Efficiency Ratio

Freedom Bank Peer Group 6

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One measure for evaluating the way a bank’s management employs its earning asset base

is the Net Interest Margin (NIM), or as it appears on the Uniform Bank Performance Report, the

Net Interest Income (Tax Equivalent) to Average Earnings Assets Ratio. NIM can change as a

result of changes in the ratios, Interest Income to Average Earnings Assets and Interest Expense

to Average Earning Assets. These ratios fluctuate as management restructures the balance sheet,

-2.0%-1.5%-1.0%-0.5%0.0%0.5%1.0%1.5%2.0%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Return on Assets

Freedom Bank Johnson County Banks < $1 Billion

-10.0%

-5.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Return on Equity

Freedom Bank Johnson County Banks < $1 Billion

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the interest rate environment changes, and bank loan and deposit pricing becomes less or

increasingly competitive (Koch and Macdonald). Although Freedom Bank’s NIM has decreased

over the past five years, its NIM of 3.39% at year-end 2015 is within the normal range of 2-5%

and is consistent with similar decreases in comparison peer groups. The two peer groups–Peer

Group 6 and Johnson County Banks with under $1 billion in assets–also appear to have a

gradually decreasing NIM (Uniform Bank Performance Report).

In order to continue issuing credit to borrowers and manage solvency risk, Freedom

Bank’s management team has made sure to maintain adequate capital. At year-end 2015, the

bank’s equity-to-assets ratio of 10.3% was on par with peers, and its Tier 1 risk-based capital

ratio of 15.4% was well above the regulatory minimum. Its total risk-based capital ratio of 16.3%

indicates strong financial health and more-than-adequate capitalization (Uniform Bank

Performance Report).

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Equity to Assets

Freedom Bank Johnson County Banks < $1 Billion

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Freedom Bank’s financial management strategy has successfully guided the bank through

the typically tumultuous early years of a de novo bank’s operations and the Financial Crisis, a

period during which nearly 30% of de novo banks chartered between 2000 and 2008 failed or

exited for other reasons (Lee and Yom). The bank’s management team effectively navigated the

challenges faced by de novo banks to create a business that is profitable and financially sound.

A 2014 FDIC study notes that a de novo bank’s asset growth and profitability do not

typically converge with established banks until at least the tenth year of operations. Median de

novo ROA is normally only about half as large as at established banks, and also tends to be more

variable (Lee and Yom). In addition, the study concludes that the slow rate at which de novo

bank profitability improves is likely due to cost factors rather than revenue, as de novo banks

tend to have trouble controlling expenses. Although most de novo banks operate at relatively

high efficiency ratios, Freedom Bank’s cost-management strategy has resulted in an efficiency

ratio that is consistently lower than those of its peers. This efficient use of resources drives

returns to the bottom line, and ensures the bank can continue growing and meet the demands of

its stakeholders. The initial rapid asset growth of de novo tends to quickly erode equity-to-assets

ratios. In contrast, Freedom Bank’s leadership has stabilized the bank’s equity-to-assets ratio,

reaching a level on par with its peers and effectively managing solvency risk.

As economic growth in the U.S. accelerates in the coming years, Freedom Bank expects

growth in its small business lending to resume. President Dave Vander Veen projects bank assets

to reach $400 million by 2020 (Vander Veen). As the economy improves, Kansas City’s small

businesses will look for expansion opportunities, and new businesses will enter the market,

creating ideal opportunities for Freedom Bank to expand its support of local small businesses.

VI. Conclusion

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Freedom Bank’s core values balance the demands of its primary stakeholders: customers,

employees, and shareholders. Keeping these demands in balance allows the bank freedom to

operate effectively; thus derives the bank’s name, “Freedom” (Knutson). This freedom in

decision-making unique to a locally owned, locally managed bank has served Freedom Bank

well thus far, and it will be essential to its continued success going forward.

With a combined 53 years of experience in commercial banking, Freedom Bank founder

and CEO Kurt Knutson and President Dave Vander Veen have played to their strengths in

managing the bank’s focus and direction. While founding the bank, Kurt realized that there was a

real need for a bank like Freedom Bank and noticed “that the market, while it had a growing

number of banks, had a shrinking number of locally owned, locally managed commercial banks”

(Knutson).

In the years immediately preceding the Financial Crisis of 2008, residential mortgage

lending and construction lending were booming. When asked why they chose to not pursue

mortgage and construction lending during this time, Kurt Knutson said, “Our answer then was

the same as it is now–that is not what we know.” Top management’s ability to make

independent and knowledgeable lending decisions helped them grow during the crisis with their

concentration of commercial loans across a wide array of business sectors.

The emphasis on relationship lending has translated into success for Freedom Bank as

well as their customers. Commercial loan customers benefit from the attention and coaching that

Freedom Bank provides them that larger transactional banks cannot provide. They can truly

understand a small business and its needs, being a relatively new business themselves. The focus

on relationship lending and understanding of their customer’s needs has allowed Freedom Bank

to enjoy low default rates because they know and understand their customers' businesses.

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Freedom Bank has strong financial condition, effective management of small business

loans, and ability to connect with small business clients. Other banks in the community do not

have the same relationships as Freedom Bank does to its small business customers. Freedom

Bank is able to ensure high quality commercial loans, which enables it to be profitable, and

because of this relationship, Freedom Bank will continue to grow and be a part of small business

lending in the Kansas City area.

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VII. Works Cited "51 Areas Have More than 25,000 Small Businesses, including Kansas City." Kansas City Business Journal. 06 Jan. 2011. May 2016.

Bernardo, Richie. “2016’s Cities with the Most & Least Diversified Economies.” WalletHub. n.d. Web. 02 May 2016. https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-least-diversified-economies/10852/

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"Call Report." Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Web. 02 May 2016. May 2016.

DeYoung, Robert. “Birth, Growth, and Life or Death of Newly Chartered Banks.” Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Economic Perspectives. Third Quarter, 1999.

“Elliott, Whitney Interview.” Personal Interview. 08 Apr. 2016 FDIC. Community Banking Study. December 2012. FDIC. "Statistics on Depository Institutions Report." Web. 02 May 2016. "KC Banking: Behind the Numbers." Ingram's, n.d. Web. 02 May 2016. Koch, Timothy W., and S. Scott McDonald. Bank Management. 8th edition. Boston:

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Riskiness of Small Business Lenders in the Banking Industry.” Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance. Summer 2006.

Lee, Yan, and Chiwon Yom. “The Entry, Performance, and Viability of De Novo

Banks,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 09 Sept. 2014.

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Lux, Marshall, and Robert Greene. "The State and Fate of Community Banking."-, Harvard Kennedy School, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. February 2015.

Murphy, Patrick, and Peter Wilder. “A New Dawn for De Novo Banks?” Bank Director.

11 March 2016. Oldenburg, Ray. "Project for Public Spaces." Project for Public Spaces, n.d. Web. 02

May 2016. Robert Morris Associates. Commercial Loans to Business: Reference Guide. San

Francisco: Omega Performance Corporation, 1984. “Schuster, Deryl Interview.” Personal Interview. 18 Apr. 2016 "Uniform Bank Performance Report." Federal Financial Institutions Examination

Council. Web. 02 May 2016. <https://cdr.ffiec.gov/public/managefacsimiles.aspx>. “Vander Veen, Dave Interview.” Personal Interview. 08 Apr. 2016.