Customers Bank Explained

Customers Bancorp, Inc.
Former Name:New Century Bank
Customers 1st Bank
Customers USA
Type:Public
Industry:Financial services
Predecessors:-->
Founded: in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, United States
Successors:-->
Hq Location City:West Reading, Pennsylvania
Hq Location Country:United States
Areas Served:-->
Revenue:$748.53 million
Revenue Year:2021
Net Income:$300.13 million
Net Income Year:2021
Assets:$19.57 billion
Assets Year:2021
Equity:$1.23 billion
Equity Year:2021
Owners:-->
Num Employees:600
Num Employees Year:2021
Subsid:Customers Bank
BankMobile
Ratio:13.4 percent (2021)
Footnotes:[1]

Customers Bancorp, Inc. is a publicly-traded bank holding company and parent of Customers Bank. The company has more than $20 billion in assets with over 600 employees located across Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., ranking in the top 100 banks in the United States. Jay Sidhu is its chairman and chief executive officer and the company is headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania. His son, Sam Sidhu, is the chief executive officer of Customers Bank.[2]

Overview

The holding company had an initial public offering on NASDAQ in 2013 under the ticker name "CUBI".[3] [4] The company is headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania and Jay Sidhu is chairman and chief executive officer.[5] Its shareholders approved the formation of a bank holding company known as Customers Bancorp, Inc. in September 2011. Sidhu announced plans to file a $115 million initial public offering in 2012.[6] The company had first filed the paperwork in April 2011 and was advised by investment bankers that it would not get the price it was seeking. Customers Bancorp then raised $100 million from investors and went public on May 17, 2013 selling 55 percent of its shares on the NASDAQ stock market, with the expectation of raising a total of $97.75 million.[3] [4]

History

In June 1997, New Century Bank was founded as a private bank in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania by Ken Mumma. It had five branches in Pennsylvania. The bank had about $265 million in total assets and $229 million in deposits by 2009, however of its $226 million lending portfolio, $186 million was real estate-related and considered bad loans amidst the Great Recession. Jay Sidhu was contacted by New Century Bank after his noncompete agreement with Sovereign Bancorp had expired and was appointed to the bank's board as well as chairman of its executive committee in May 2009. The next month, Sidhu was announced as chairman and chief executive officer after helping the bank to raise $13.6 million in capital.[7]

New Century Bank changed its name to Customers 1st Bank in April 2010 and announced a rebranding plan in addition to opening four branches. Customers 1st Bank reported to have $500 million in assets at that time.[8] It acquired all of the deposits and assets of Port Chester, New York-headquartered USA Bank in July 2010.[9] The next month, a federal court ruled that the Customers 1st Bank name infringed on Alliance Bank's trademark and it rebranded as Customers USA. The bank also announced the purchase of Berkshire Bancorp and its Berkshire Bank subsidiary as well as the acquisition of ISN Bank in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in 2010.[10]

In 2015, Jay Sidhu and his daughter Luvleen co-founded BankMobile, an online bank that incubated under Customers Bank.[11] It reached 100,000 customers within a year of launching.[12] The company agreed to purchase Higher One Holdings of New Haven, Connecticut for $42 million in 2016 and reported that it would combine the acquisition with BankMobile.[13] [14]

T-Mobile announced a partnership with BankMobile in April 2019 to introduce a banking service for its wireless customers. At the time, BankMobile was considered one of the fastest-growing banks in the United States.[15] Customers Bank moved its headquarters from Wyomissing to West Reading, Pennsylvania later that year. It was reported to have $11.7 billion in assets at that time.[16]

In 2021, Sidhu's son, Sam, became president and chief executive officer of Customers Bank, after the announcement that Richard Ehst would be retiring. Sam was previously a board member for the bank, vice chair and chief operating officer, as well as head of corporate development for Customers Bancorp.[17] [18] That same year, the company announced that it would introduce "fintech-forward-focused banking" to its customers.[2]

On August 8, 2024, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced an enforcement action against Customers Bancorp and Customers Bank Malvern, Pennsylvania after an examination found “significant deficiencies” in the bank’s risk-management and anti-money laundering practices.[19] The notice singled out the bank’s “digital asset strategy” as an area of concern.[20] The bank operates a blockchain-based real-time payments platform called Customers Bank Instant Token (CBIT) and counts a number of prominent digital asset firms as clients.[21] [22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Customers Bancorp, Inc. (CUBI). Yahoo! Finance.
  2. Web site: With a look toward the future, Customers Bank unveils new brand. Reading Eagle. Evan Jones. 16 December 2021.
  3. Web site: Customers Bancorp to hold $75M offering. Jeff Blumenthal. Philadelphia Business Journal. 15 May 2013.
  4. Web site: Customers Bank beats IPO share target. Joseph N. DiStefano. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 17 May 2013.
  5. Web site: With a look toward the future, Customers Bank unveils new brand. Reading Eagle. Evan Jones. 16 December 2021.
  6. Web site: Jay Sidhu's Customers Bancorp Files $115 Million Public Offering. Rick Green. Bloomberg. 28 March 2012.
  7. Web site: Former Sovereign CEO Sidhu heading New Century Bank of Phoenixville. Jeff Blumenthal. Philadelphia Business Journal. 19 June 2009.
  8. Web site: New Century changes name to Customers 1st Bank. Philadelphia Business Journal. Jeff Blumenthal. 26 April 2010.
  9. Web site: Customers 1st Bank(SM) Acquires USA Bank of Port Chester, NY. PR Newswire. 9 July 2010.
  10. Web site: Customers Bank returns to No. 1 on Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry Top Businesses list. Reading Eagle. Lisa Scheid. 24 May 2016.
  11. Web site: SPAC Backed by Father Gains 84% Buying Firm Run by Daughter . Bloomberg . June 18, 2021 . Pendleton, Devon.
  12. Web site: Luvleen Sidhu, chief strategy and marketing officer, BankMobile . Charlotte Business Journal . January 5, 2016 . Johnson, Mary.
  13. Web site: Customers Bancorp to Buy Higher One's Disbursements Business. American Banker. Paul Davis. 15 December 2015.
  14. Web site: $42M acquisition of student banking business closes . Philadelphia Business Journal . June 16, 2016 . Blumenthal, Jeff.
  15. Web site: T-Mobile expands into banking with 'mobile-first' checking account . Fierce Wireless . April 19, 2019 . Chamberlain, Kendra.
  16. Web site: Customers Bancorp moving its headquarters to accommodate growth. Jeff Blumenthal. Philadelphia Business Journal. 28 October 2019.
  17. Web site: Ehst to retire as COO at Customers Bancorp after over 50 years in banking . Philadelphia Business Journal . March 30, 2021 . Blumenthal, Jeff.
  18. Web site: Customers in Pennsylvania taps leader's son to run its bank . American Banker . March 29, 2021 . Davis, Paul.
  19. Web site: Schroeder . Pete . August 8, 2024 . Customers Bancorp hit with Fed action for risk-management deficiencies . August 8, 2024 . Reuters.
  20. Web site: August 8, 2024 . Written Agreement by and among CUSTOMERS BANCORP, INC. West Reading, Pennsylvania CUSTOMERS BANK Malvern, Pennsylvania and FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . August 8, 2024 . Federalreserve.gov.
  21. Web site: October 18, 2021 . Customers Bank and Tassat Launch Blockchain-Enabled Instant Payments on TassatPay . August 8, 2024 . customersbank.com.
  22. News: 2023-07-17 . Crypto's New Favorite Bank Is Reluctant to Accept the Title . 2024-08-08 . Bloomberg.com . en.