Our story begins in 2004 with six businessmen who either banked with or worked for local financial institutions that were acquired by out-of-town concerns. These individuals – Robert Chambers, Leland Curtis, Mark Nelson, Edward Dowd, Jeffrey Schatz and the late Jon Pyzyk – saw the need for a locally owned, full-service bank dedicated to the needs of growing hometown businesses. Hundreds of fellow entrepreneurs rallied to the idea, putting the wheels in motion late in 2004 to form a new bank.
Most new banks open with minimal resources. They slowly add staff and services to mature into a full-service bank over a period of years. The organizers of St. Louis Bank had a different idea.