Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 20, 1994 TAG: 9401200320
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The group of businessmen made clear the proposed institution's niche would be among those who want to do business with a locally owned bank.
George Logan, chairman of the group, said organizers have been discussing such a bank for "the last 12 to 15 months," dating the plans roughly to the September 1992 announcement by First Union Corp. that it would acquire Dominion Bankshares Corp. of Roanoke.
"The proposed bank will be locally owned and locally managed by the people of the Roanoke Valley for the people of the Roanoke Valley," Logan said at a meeting of news media and interested businessmen.
"Ever since the acquisition of Dominion . . . many people have felt a void," Logan said. "Frankly, in my mind, it's been a question of when - not if - a local bank would be formed in the valley."
Logan, president of Valley Motorsport, said local banks "have always had special relationships with their communities. . . . We hope to build on the pride a community has in a home-grown institution."
The group must file for a charter and other approvals before it begins to sell stock.
Logan said the goal is "to have a bank that is owned by a large and diverse number of people throughout the valley." The price of the stock, which was not announced, "will be well within the reach of the average individual."
Guy W. Byrd Jr., who will be president and chief executive officer of Valley Bank, declined to say what amount was to be raised except that it will be "significantly" above the legally required minimum of $5 million.
Byrd spoke at a news conference called to unveil plans that have been talked about widely in the Roanoke banking and general business communities for several weeks.
He predicted the bank will open by the end of the year.
The group is seeking a temporary office. Byrd said its initial banking locations will be a headquarters in downtown Roanoke and a branch in the vicinity of Tanglewood Mall.
That the organizers plan to start with two locations indicates their financial strength, Byrd said.
Byrd, too, stressed the importance of a local bank.
"I have never wavered from my belief that a local bank can do a far better job of understanding and responding to its local market than financial institutions that may be headquartered in more distant cities," he said.
Valley Bank, he said, will customize services to the specific needs of local individuals and businesses. "We'll be capable of responding quicker, because decisions will be made right here in Roanoke."
Byrd estimated that Valley Bank might grow into a $100 million institution. If so, it would capture about 3 percent of the local market.
He could not say how many employees the new bank might have. The organizers, he said, are still drawing a business plan.
The last bank organized in Roanoke, First Security, was announced in 1986 and opened two years later. It failed in 1991.
Byrd pointed out that First Security's initial capitalization was about $2.5 million and it had a single branch, on Williamson Road. The building now is a NationsBank branch.
The difference between First Security and Valley Bank, he said, is in the amount of the initial capital, the location of the branches and the quality of the organizers. Valley Bank, he said, has "a dream team."
Valley Bank will be a federally chartered national bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Deposits will be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., a requirement of Virginia banking regulations.
The organizers already have met with representatives of the OCC and the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions, according to A. Wayne Lewis, who will be chief operating officer of Valley Bank.
Lewis worked for 31 years for Dominion Bankshares, where he was executive vice president and corporate secretary.
Bryan Wishneff, the city's director of economic development, said after the meeting that "any community of any size should have a community bank. It's good to see the Roanoke Valley get one of its own."
Wishneff, who attended Wednesday's meeting, said the city staff had worked with the bank organizers on finding suitable locations for a downtown headquarters.
\ Organizers of valley bank
Abney S. Boxley III, 35, president of W.W. Boxley Co., a crushed stone supplier.
W. Jackson Burrows, 45, vice president of Virginia Construction Supply, a distributor of construction products to commercial and highway contractors.
Guy W. Byrd Jr., 52, to be president and chief executive officer of Valley Bank.
William D. Elliot, 47, president of Davis H. Elliot Co., a construction and maintenance contractor specializing in overhead electric power lines.
Lawrence H. Hamlar, 72, president of Hamlar-Curtis Funeral Home Inc.
Eddie F. Hearp, 50, president of National Financial Services Inc., a personal and business insurance planning company.
Anna L. Lawson, 50, civic leader.
Barbara B. Lemon, 57, civic leader.
A. Wayne Lewis, 50, to be senior vice president and chief operating officer of Valley Bank.
George W. Logan, 48, president of Valley Motorsport, a dealer of imported automobiles. He is chairman of Valley Bank.
Bittle W. Porterfield III, 49, president of Rice Management Co., a private investment firm.
John W. Starr, 47, a physician and member of Consultants in Cardiology and director of the Hemodynamic Laboratory at Roanoke Memorial Hospitals.
Ward W. Stevens, 58, a physician and member of Neurosurgical Associates of Roanoke Inc.
Maury L. Strauss, 69, chairman of Strauss Construction Co., a real estate development firm.
Michael E. Warner, 58, a private investor.
by CNB