Start Your Own Bank (Really)
From August 2005
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“There was an opportunity because quite a few of the community banks that were in the Sacramento area had disappeared via the merger and acquisition process,” says Raffetto, now the bank’s CEO.
“In addition to that, we saw an opportunity to structure a bank to be able to deliver state-of-the-art technology products,” he says. “Most banks today, including the big banks, are basically run on 1970s technology, which is really restricted.”
Calnet’s technology systems allow electronic customer transactions to be processed instantly in real-time, rather than overnight, which can be an advantage to certain businesses, he points out.
High-Tech Services
Additionally, the bank provides high-tech contribution-management services to nonprofits and political campaigns that have specific requirements for filing electronic reports to the state.
Opening the bank, Raffetto says, was difficult, but rewarding, and demonstrated that even the best ideas can run into unexpected circumstances beyond their control.
They pitched their plan to a Los Angeles-based investment brokerage firm on Sept. 10, 2001. The next day’s terrorist attacks, of course, plunged the country into turmoil and devastated financial markets that were already floundering from the dotcom bust.
The timing made it harder to attract investors, but ultimately they ended up only about a week off schedule, attracting some 300 investors and opening in November of that year.
Continued...
“In addition to that, we saw an opportunity to structure a bank to be able to deliver state-of-the-art technology products,” he says. “Most banks today, including the big banks, are basically run on 1970s technology, which is really restricted.”
Calnet’s technology systems allow electronic customer transactions to be processed instantly in real-time, rather than overnight, which can be an advantage to certain businesses, he points out.
High-Tech Services
Additionally, the bank provides high-tech contribution-management services to nonprofits and political campaigns that have specific requirements for filing electronic reports to the state.
Opening the bank, Raffetto says, was difficult, but rewarding, and demonstrated that even the best ideas can run into unexpected circumstances beyond their control.
They pitched their plan to a Los Angeles-based investment brokerage firm on Sept. 10, 2001. The next day’s terrorist attacks, of course, plunged the country into turmoil and devastated financial markets that were already floundering from the dotcom bust.
The timing made it harder to attract investors, but ultimately they ended up only about a week off schedule, attracting some 300 investors and opening in November of that year.
Continued...
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