INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In the years following the financial crisis, de novo bank activity in the US slowed to a trickle
But as memories fade, the economy expands and the potential of tech-powered financial services marches forward, entrepreneurs have once
fintech startup that offers an interesting banking-like service of one kind or another
I mean a bank bank.One of those entrepreneurs is Judith Erwin, a well-known business banking executive who was part of the founding team at
Square 1 Bank, which was bought in 2015
Fast forward a few years and Erwin is back, this time as CEO of the cleverly named Grasshopper Bank in New York.With over $130 million in
capital raised from investors including Patriot Financial and T
Rowe Price Associates, Grasshopper has a notable amount of heft for a banking newbie
hotly contested niche that has benefited from a robust start-up and venture capital environment.Gregg Schoenberg: Good to see you, Judith
To jump right in, in my opinion, you were a key part of one of the most successful de novo banks in quite some time
them back. Judith Erwin: The VC relationships and the products and services managing the balance sheet around deposits
Those were my two primary roles, but my background is one where people give me broken things, I fix them and give them back.Schoenberg:
Square 1 was purchased for about 22 times earnings and 260% of tangible book, correct?Erwin: Sounds accurate.Schoenberg: Plus, the bank had
a phenomenal earnings trajectory
insight, and I did feel like we had sold too soon
