We take mortgage companies, servicers, fintechs, credit unions, and investor groups from the decision to become a bank through the charter, the acquisition or conversion, and the first year of operating as one. One plan, one team, and one timeline, led by practitioners who have run banks.
The triggers include a mortgage company or servicer that wants deposit funding and a single prudential relationship, an investor group weighing a de novo charter or a bank acquisition, a fintech looking at an industrial loan company or a bank purchase, and a credit union or savings institution converting its charter.
Under the FDIC's two-phase process, announced in August 2026, applicants that meet the requirements can expect a contingent authorization within 120 days of a substantially complete filing, then have up to 12 months to finish organizing before final approval. The clock now runs from receipt, so the filing has to be complete when it lands.
We start with structure. We weigh a de novo charter against an acquisition or a conversion, decide which entity survives so agency, servicer, and state approvals carry through, and design affiliate and insider relationships to meet Regulation W and Regulation O from the first filing.
The business plan and the applications run on one set of numbers. Capital is modeled with verified sources of funds and a downside case. Funding is modeled with the insured and uninsured mix, a runoff stress on the largest depositors, and a contingency funding plan.
Before the first examiner arrives, the board, committees, enterprise risk management, BSA and AML, and the compliance management system are operating rather than promised, and a hiring sequence names who owns each control until that function is staffed.
One program office runs weekly status against a single implementation workplan, with risks and material weaknesses named in the open, and one master document keeps a filing with many authors reading as one plan.
We run multi-state licensing so lending continues on legal day one, and contract core and digital vendors with an exit if the charter is not granted. Legal day one and operating day one are planned as separate dates, and the board and regulator see the gap.
Then we build the businesses the charter enables, from deposits and digital account opening to treasury management and commercial lending, and sequence brand and pre-launch marketing against the capital raise and opening date, so nothing promises deposit insurance before the bank has it.
Two engagements show the work end to end: moving a national servicer into a bank charter, and turning a mortgage company into a chartered bank.
The Endurance Review Engine drafts from and cross-checks the policy library, projections, and application materials, with every AI-assisted output cited and signed off by a named practitioner. Endurance Fair Lending Analytics covers fair lending where the new bank's products touch credit decisions.
The business plan and capital model often begin in Strategy & Capital, M&A leads the target work when buying a bank is the faster path, Talent seats interim leaders until permanent hires arrive, and Credit & Enterprise Risk Management carries the risk program after day one.
Talk with a practitioner who has run a bank before you decide how to become one.
Yes. We run de novo charters, nonbank acquisitions of existing banks, industrial loan company (ILC) applications, and charter conversions, from the structure decision through day one and the first examination cycle.
It depends on timing, capital, and what you need to keep. Buying an existing bank is often faster, and choosing which entity survives can keep agency, servicer, and state approvals intact. A de novo charter is a cleaner start on a longer path. We model both before you commit.
A credible business plan with three-year projections, committed capital, and governance, risk, and compliance functions that already operate rather than ones promised for later. Regulators have denied applications where capital plans, management experience, or compliance programs were not ready at filing. Closer supervision continues after opening, so the plan has to be one you can live with.
It depends on the charter. A state bank files with its state banking department and applies to the FDIC for deposit insurance, a national bank files with the OCC, and a holding company brings in the Federal Reserve. We map every filing and its sequence at the start.
Preparation is the part you control. Under the FDIC's two-phase process, applicants that meet the requirements can expect a contingent authorization within 120 days of a substantially complete filing, then have up to 12 months to finish organizing before final approval and a pre-opening examination. Filing to opening can still run past 18 months, and acquisitions and conversions follow their own approval paths. We build the filing to be complete when it arrives and keep the work moving through opening.
Legal day one is when the charter and deposit insurance take effect. Operating day one is when the core, the digital channels, and the full product set are live. The two rarely land on the same date. We plan both, show the gap, and decide what the bank offers in between.
Yes, and it saves time. We run core and vendor selection during the application, with contract terms tied to the charter, such as an exit if approval does not come, so build work can start as soon as the bank is ready to open accounts.
Yes, with sequencing. A bank cannot claim deposit insurance before it is insured, and a capital raise running at the same time can limit what is said in public. We set the brand and marketing calendar against those dates with your counsel.
AI-enabled research speeds the document work across the plan, the policy library, and the application, and a named practitioner reviews and signs off every deliverable before it reaches your board or the regulator.
Plan, policy, and application sources catalogued and timestamped.
Every projection ties to its source.
A named practitioner signs off.
An examination-ready record from filing through the first exam.
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