The first women-owned bank in Ohio is getting closer to opening, marking what supporters say is another victory in the effort to secure equitable financial services access across genders.
Organizers, who have already received conditional approval from state and federal regulators to launch the proposed Fortuna Bank, completed a capital raise in July, pulling in more than $20.7 million. Top leadership roles, including finance chief and chief credit officer, are being filled and an office in Grandview Heights, Ohio, a northwest suburb of Columbus, is nearing completion.
Fortuna will be majority women-owned, led by women and focused on helping women succeed, said President and CEO Ilaria Rawlins, a longtime Ohio-based banker who heeded a call from her former client and Fortuna's founder, Lisa Berger, to join the effort in launching the bank. The opening date is not yet set, but Rawlins is aiming for a soft opening in late September.
Fortuna is one of several de novo banks proposed in the Columbus market in recent years, including
"We know that women-owned businesses are growing. We know that women entrepreneurs are denied business loans … more often than men. We know they tend to ask for less when it comes to loans. And we know women are situated to inherit a significant amount of wealth," Rawlins said in an interview. "So we felt like there was an opportunity to fill those gaps."
When it opens, Fortuna will become part of a small group in the banking industry. In total, there are just 18 women-owned banks in the United States, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. That number includes women CEOs who've inherited banks from their families.
Fortuna's launch comes amid heightened efforts to build banks or bank subsidiaries that focus on women's financial needs. Its organizers say it will be the third U.S. bank in three years specifically formed to be women-owned, which means at least 51% of shareholders are women.
In that category, it joins
Sparks,
The bank remains women-owned, as 66% of shareholders are women, the spokesperson said. Sparks is still a shareholder, she said.
Other efforts to found and run banks by women include
BankMiami has a female founder, Mary Usategui, who will be president and CEO. Whether or not it will be women-owned is unknown, as it is still in the capital-raising mode, Usategui said.
The bank must raise at least $32.5 million before it can open. It has received state and federal approval, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. giving a thumbs-up on Aug. 6, Usategui said.
Meanwhile, Impressia was designed to meet the "unique financial needs" of women, including access to capital, President Mary Kate Loftus said. While it is not women-owned, it is another example of providing banking services and other support that cater to women, Loftus said.
The division operates throughout CNB's entire footprint, which includes Columbus, Loftus said.
"Sometimes people will ask, 'Are you competing?' and we're not," Loftus said. "We're all trying to change the conversation, so that people understand that women need access [to capital] to close the gender gap in finance, and the more solutions out there, the better for everybody."
Various statistics continue to show that women entrepreneurs and small business owners still face barriers in accessing credit. Two-thirds of women-owned businesses can't access either some or all of the capital they need, according to a 2024 report commissioned by Wells Fargo that addresses the impact of women-owned businesses on the economy.
In addition to making childcare more affordable, increasing the availability of capital would enhance women's ability to start and grow businesses, according to the report.
One of the top priorities for the National Association of Women Business Owners is accessing capital through financial literacy education and digital tools, Dr. Janis Shinkawa, the organization's national board chair, said in an email.
"Despite major inroads over the years, access to capital remains one of the greatest barriers for women trying to launch, scale and grow their businesses," Shinkawa said. "We fully support women-owned and -led banks opening in communities across the nation because they are run by entrepreneurial women and offer opportunities for increased access and a more level playing field for all."
Putting more capital into women's hands is part of Fortuna's mission, Rawlins said. Men tend to have larger networks, which helps them get the funds they need, she said. Women often don't have connections at banks or someone who can walk them through the lending process.
At Fortuna, a total of 340 shareholders raised more than $20.7 million, exceeding the minimum $20 million target, Rawlins said. Of those 340, more than 75% are women, including a large group of female entrepreneurs. The minimum investment level of $10,000, Rawlins noted.
The raise drew interest not only from individuals, but also from corporations such as Park National Bank in Newark, Ohio, and OhioHealth, a health care system serving Columbus and Central Ohio.
Each year, in advance of our Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance awards, American Banker puts together a list of 15 women who are rising stars at their banks. The honorees, all women 40 years old and younger, are nominated by an executive at their institution who believes that she has the potential to ascend to the C-suite.
According to Fortuna's pitch deck for potential investors, the bank's organizers are forecasting growing to $155 million of assets within three years of opening, along with $138 million of loans. They expect 42% of the loan composition to be commercial real estate and 20% to be commercial and industrial. The majority of the anticipated deposit mix will be certificates of deposit, at 38% of the total book, and noninterest bearing deposits, at 29% of the book, the pitch deck showed.
Staffing-wide, Fortuna is expected to have about 20 employees by the end of its third year.
Others in the space are eager for Fortuna's opening day. That includes Sparks, the founder of Agility, who says she remains optimistic about the future of women-owned banks, even though she is no longer leading one.
Sparks said she's an investor in Fortuna. A bank consultant by trade, she is co-founder and owner of Houston-based Third Party Resources, which specializes in risk management.
"For me and other women in financial services, it's a really positive step," she said of Fortuna's impending launch. "Women have to be in positions of power in financial services, in order for there to be more equitable access to capital. All we want is to be part of the financial fabric."
