“Our new name is simpler, and is the way that many of our customers and communities already think of us,” ANB President Koger Propst said late last year. “It’s also our existing website address.”
The difference between a state and federal charter will probably not be noticed by bank customers, Albert Forkner, assistant commissioner with the Wyoming Division of Banking said. “Beyond the name change, there is very little impact at the customer level.”
A national bank is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as the FDIC. State chartered banks are regulated by the state banking department and the FDIC. Deposits are insured by the FDIC in either case.
State charters are usually less expensive. Wyoming’s supervisory fees, for example are approximately 38 percent lower than the OCC, Forkner explained. Also state banks offer increased flexibility and accessibility and tend to be much less bureaucratic. In addition, state banks may operate under laws that are more responsive to the business climate within the region; there is no need for a “one size fits all” federal approach.
While banking laws between Wyoming and Colorado are similar, there are usually subtle differences, Forkner said. “And of course, the regulator for each is within their respective states.” State-charted banks can still operate interstate, so long as the state in which they are chartered allows multi-state activities.
In this case, ANB got a Colorado state charter. The Wyoming ANB banks are considered to be branch offices of the Colorado parent bank. The bank is a member of the Sturm Financial Group, a privately-owned Colorado bank holding company, which also owns Premier Bank, located in Kansas and Missouri.
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