Rapid growth as a community bank – Five Star’s strategies for using fintech to expand their customer.



Detailed Summary:



This episode of the Finovate Podcast features DJ Kurtze, Executive Vice President and Bay Area President of Five Star Bank, discussing the community bank's impressive growth trajectory and unique positioning in the competitive San Francisco market. Five Star Bank is a $4.6 billion community bank headquartered in Rancho Cordova with nine branches and two administrative offices, serving real estate communities, small to medium-sized businesses, nonprofits, agriculture, and governmental entities. Founded 25 years ago by real estate developers Buzz Oates and Frank Ramos, the bank has maintained a remarkable 20% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years through organic growth strategies rather than acquisitions. Kurtze joined Five Star after the collapse of Signature Bank in March 2023, bringing his team over to capitalize on opportunities created by the banking sector disruptions involving SVB, First Republic, and Signature Bank.



The conversation explores Five Star's competitive advantages, which center on hiring exceptional senior bankers who understand their clients' businesses and providing direct access to decision-makers with speed and certainty of execution. The bank positions itself as "technology first," implementing advanced systems both for customer-facing services and internal operations. This technological focus, combined with their flat organizational structure and lack of legacy systems from acquisitions, allows them to operate at a 40% efficiency ratio and quickly implement customer feedback and new product offerings. The bank's approach to fintech partnerships emphasizes working with vendors who have proven track records with financial institutions and can provide plug-and-play solutions compatible with existing core banking systems.



A significant portion of the discussion focuses on Five Star's specialized approach to nonprofit banking, which requires understanding unique cash flows, funding structures, and the sophisticated needs of experienced C-suite executives and board members who often come from successful business backgrounds. The bank provides advanced fraud prevention tools, insured cash sweep products for higher FDIC insurance limits, and creative lending solutions including tax-exempt financing. Kurtze closes by highlighting how community banks have advantages in fraud prevention through personal relationships and direct banker-client communication, allowing them to identify unusual transactions and protect clients more effectively than larger institutions despite having smaller technology budgets.



More info:



Five Star Bank: https://www.five-starbank.com/ ; https://www.linkedin.com/company/five-star-bank-california/



DJ Kurtze: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dj-kurtze-449b3934/



Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/



Finovate: https://www.finovate.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/



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