Imperial Capital Bank is the new tech kid on the block.
Opening its first Maryland office on the 200 block of St. Paul Place in Baltimore, Imperial Capital Bank aims to compete with local banking icons such as 1st Mariner, Provident and Harbor.
Entering the regional market with the opening of its doors May 7, Imperial?s market niche is focused on the Web and technology, not the traditional method in which financial institutions rely on a saturation of branches.
This includes careful attention to online banking and the use of automated teller machines.
“Every other bank is expanding, but we feel with our knowledge there is no reason for us to do the same,” said Darryl Banks, vice president of the Baltimore-based branch. “We are a bank on the cutting edge, and our role is to make sure that when a person walks in the door, we give them the best one-stop, one-shop service.”
ITLA Capital Corp. is the La Jolla, Calif.-based holding company for Imperial.
Capital has seven other branches and 23 loan offices nationwide, but no more than one in any city.
Imperial does not charge for ATM fees, even if it doesn?t own the machine, and plans to aggressively pursue the commercial lending market.
“The other side of that coin is that this bank was built on commercial real estate lending, and we plan to be part of the renaissance of Baltimore,” Banks said. “We want to be part of filling the needs so companies that want to be part of the renaissance who want to get the money can get it.”
And despite the competitive market, Imperial is banking on capturing a younger generation.
“They have some unique niches to them,” said Drew Tignanelli, a principal with The Financial Consulate in Lutherville. “They are very Internet-oriented, and they are after a younger or more tech-savvy crowd. They are competing with the future of banking, which is going to be more online-oriented as opposed to brick and mortar.”
