Organizers of First Women’s Bank in Chicago have secured conditional approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The group plans to open a bank that will primarily focus on female entrepreneurs. Organizers are looking to raise $50 million in hopes of opening late this year or in early 2021.
The approval "is a significant milestone” that recognizes "the combination of our talented leadership team, unique strategy and differentiated mission positions us for success," said Marianne Markowitz, who is expected to become the bank's CEO.
Markowitz was acting administrator of the Small Business Administration between February and April of 2014.
First Women’s, which was
Along with FDIC conditional approval, First Women’s announced three board appointments, including that of Kim Vender Moffat, a private equity investor who will also serve as the executive sponsor of the bank’s advisory board.
Meredith O’Connor, executive managing director at the Chicago real estate broker Jones Lang LaSalle, will chair the advisory board, while Nickol Hackett, a veteran investor, will serve as a director of the bank.
The FDIC has approved 12 applications for deposit insurance this year, though organizers of Coastal Community Bank abandoned plans to open in Hollywood, Fla.
