Fiserv fuels Mi Bank’s de novo launch
Mi Bank, Michigan’s first de novo bank in a decade, is set to debut early this year. The new financial institution says it will leverage technology from Fiserv, including DNA’s core banking system, to power its launch, reports David Penn at Finovate.
“Local businesses like to bank with local financial institutions that understand the dynamics and challenges they face”
“Local businesses like to bank with local financial institutions that understand the dynamics and challenges they face,” Mi Bank founder, chairman, and CEO Rob Farr explains. “Fiserv gives us the technology foundation we need and has demonstrated flexibility in accommodating us as a new bank looking to address a gap in our market.”
Farr and his team will benefit from their previous experience working with Fiserv, as well as from Fiserv’s history of supporting other de novo banks.
Upon launch, Mi Bank will offer a full suite of banking solutions including core account processing, commercial lending, digital banking, remote deposit capture (RDC), wire transfers, and 24-hour account opening.
In addition to technology implementation (what Farr called “the heavy lifting”), Fiserv will train Mi Bank’s internal staff to ensure they are able to make the most of the new technology.
Located 25 miles outside of Detroit in Bloomfield Township, Mi Bank is among the more recent de novo banks to be approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
And if state regulators follow-through, Mi Bank will be the first bank to open in the state since the Great Recession. The bank will cater to small and medium-sized commercial businesses, and seeks to bring what it calls “community banking principles” to the world of SME banking.
Farr served as president and CEO of Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares (Michigan) from 2006 to 2017, when the firm was sold. An alum of Michigan State University, Farr worked in private banking for Michigan National Bank, Old Kent/Fifth Third, and TCF Bank.
De novo banks and credit unions are newly-chartered financial institutions – not purchased as an acquisition – that have been in operation for five years or less.
Fiserv has worked with more than 400 de novo banks and credit unions since 2000, providing banking platforms, e-commerce solutions, and payment technologies.
FinTech Futures has created a comprehensive list of US challenger banks here.
