The board of directors of Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares Inc., the holding company for the Bank of Birmingham, announced Monday that fundraising for its initial public offering has surpassed its maximum target of $18 million.

This briefing, written in association with the Ecnomist Intelligence Unit, addresses the concept, the benefits and the implementation of economic as it applies to financial services institutions.

This article examines the role of capital in financial institutions - why it is important, how market-generated capital 'requirements' differ from regulatory requirements, and the form that regulatory requirements should take.

You, too, can charter a bank. All it takes is $10 million, hard work and lots of patience.

From 1997 through 2001, deposits grew at a rate of 5.75% annually,the third fastest rate among large states.

Organizers of five new banks in the Puget Sound region are pushing ahead with raising capital despite the troubled economy.

It is difficult for most de novo organizers to believe that selling stock in their bank will be anything but a "slam-dunk." But can you afford to rely on such blind faith?

Conditions remain tight for raising capital, but some bank organizers remain optimistic about their de novo projects.

What is the first thing a new bank needs the day it opens? Customers. The customer will dictate when, how and where they will interact, if at all, with your bank. Remember the line from the movie Field of Dreams "build it and they will come?"

It seems that everyone today is searching for an instant fix. We all have the best intentions, but down deep, we hold out the hope that someone will come up with a quick solution for our most complex problems.

Maximize shareholder value! This is the battle cry being sounded in the lobbies and boardrooms of banks everywhere.

Lee Gascamp knows where the deep pockets are in Brenham, Tex., and he thought that with his ample connections in town, he would need just a few weeks to raise the capital for his start-up Bank of Brenham. Those few weeks turned into seven months.

Experience is the only component that separates champions from the rest of the pack. When the situation changes, you must adjust your game plan. It is the experienced team that is victorious time and time again.