Primary Bank: NH Welcomes First New Bank in Seven Years

CONCORD, NH — Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, P.C. congratulates Primary Bank and its Organizers for forming a new bank, raising over $25 million in capital, and opening its doors for business. The Bedford, NH-based bank is the first to be created in New Hampshire in seven years, and is poised to serve the state's small businesses and consumers. 

Banking attorneys W. John Funk, Dodd Griffith and Susan Hollinger advised Primary Bank in this transaction and have extensive experience in advising financial institutions and other businesses on raising capital and complying with federal and state securities laws and all aspects of state and federal financial institution regulation.

NH Banking Commissioner Glenn Perlow signed the Certification to Transact Business on July 28, 2015, the final authorization to allow the New Hampshire state-chartered Primary Bank to begin business. Primary Bank is only the second bank chartered in the United States since 2010.

Non Depository Trust Company Formation in NH

What is the best state in which to organize a non deposit trust company? According to NH banking attorney John Funk in a nice introductory article on nondepository trust companies, the answer is New Hampshire. In the article, Funk provides a primer on organizing and operating a non depository, or fiduciary-services-only, trust company, calling New Hampshire "the best state in the country to organize a nondepository trust company" due to its unique and sophisticated regulatory environment.

He writes...

"Over the years, New Hampshire has streamlined the application and regulatory process and has amended its laws governing trusts so that they are among the most sophisticated in the country. Many companies have taken advantage of the state’s experienced regulatory environment. Recently, as federal regulators have tightened client protections under securities laws governing investment advisors, a number of firms have formed nondepository trust companies in New Hampshire to serve as qualified custodians to complement their advisory functions."

To read the full article, click on: Nondepository Trust Company.

UPDATE: March 11 = Attorney Funk has written a companion article, on New Hampshire Family Trust Companies, about a subset type of private trust company known as a family fiduciary services company, which offers "ultra-wealthy families an opportunity to have their own trust companies to manage their wealth over generations. And better yet, information relating to these companies is confidential so that their finances are not open to public view." The author describes a bill, Senate Bill 421, pending in the N.H. Legislature to make family fiduciary services companies even more attractive by creating "a separate chapter of the statutes to govern their formation and operation and re-name them family trust companies."