New Local Bank In '98
The organizers of the new Hamptons State Bank in Southampton Village expect to receive state approval by Oct. 17 and be open for business by early January.
Thomas Behringer, a Southampton attorney who helped found the Bank of the Hamptons in 1965, said once the New York State Banking Board gives its okay, the bank will be allowed to solicit operating capital. It plans to raise $7 million through an initial public offering of 700,000 shares at $10 each. A minimum purchase of 500 shares will be required.
If the initial public offering does not sell out, Mr. Behringer said the bank would offer the remaining shares in smaller blocks. "This is a long-term investment," he said. "We don't wish to give the impression that someone will double their money over night."
Filling A Niche
"We're not going to be any threat to the banking community, but we think we can fill a niche," said Mr. Behringer. The Hamptons State Bank will try to "tailor our products and services to the community of Southampton," he said. "This is something that bigger banks can't do."
The bank will offer a full line of services including savings accounts and business, installment, and equity loans as well as mortgages. It expects to receive approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures deposits up to $100,000, by November.
The new bank will occupy the former Corrigan Building, a red brick structure on North Sea Road. Extensive renovations, including the construction of a vault, will be required. It has obtained a 20-year lease on the building.
Going With The Trend
Along with Mr. Behringer, two other former presidents of the Bank of the Hamptons, John F. Kidd and Ronald Krawczyk, are involved. Mr. Kidd, who is retired, lives in Sayville. Mr. Krawczyk of Patchogue was most recently an executive vice president with the Suffolk County National Bank, which purchased the Bank of the Hamptons in 1994.
The idea for the new community bank was born when the three men and others associated with the Bank of the Hamptons met each other for a Christmas dinner in 1995.
Other organizers include William Hattrick, a former Southampton Village Mayor and a vice president with Prudential Securities in Southampton, Joe Raynor, a Water Mill engineer and development consultant, Susan Vahradian, owner of the Arrow Laundry on Main Street in Southampton, and Charles T. Stevenson, a Southampton summer resident.
Although the news in recent years has been full of reports of large national banks gobbling up their smaller competitors, Mr. Behringer said the prospects for a "boutique" bank were good. "The major banks are going to get bigger and bigger because they are acquiring all the time," he said. "But the trend shows that boutique banks will do well. It's the number of ones in between, the regional banks, that will be getting smaller."