Benzinga | Jan 3, 2022 10:07AM EST

Customers Bank Launches Technology And Venture Banking Group

https://www.customersbank.com/investor-relations/press-releases/press-release/68141762-afe6-4424-8f41-ab2875c54873/



Customers Bank, a top 100 digital forward consumer and commercial bank with approximately $19.1 billion in assets, introduced a national Technology and Venture Banking Group to serve early, growth and late-stage technology companies as part of the bank's continued strategic growth. The bank earned national recognition for its technology prowess and agility to create a hybrid fintech banking model that provided more than 325,000 PPP loans with an aggregate value of $9.5 billion to small businesses earlier this year.



The Technology and Venture Banking Group offers unique financial products and structures designed specifically to meet the needs of technology and venture businesses in all life-cycle stages. The team takes a stage-based approach as a primary guiding principle in evaluating opportunities and risks. The stages are primarily categorized by overall run-rate revenue and, to a lesser degree, customer base, product adoption, total addressable market and overall capitalization.



Products and services offered include growth capital term loans, MRR credit facilities, ARR credit facilities, unitranche and FOLO credit facilities, revolving lines of credit -- formula and non-formula, and traditional term loans. While the group will work with both technology and technology-enabled service businesses, the principal focus will be working with pre-profit early, growth and late-stage technology companies. The groups will focus on the entire life-cycle of technology and venture-backed businesses across the nation, including early-stage start-ups, through growth stage or expansions, as well as mature stages. Many of these clients will have previously raised outside equity capital.



"Our Technology and Venture Banking Group understands the unique attributes of technology and venture-backed businesses, which often have recurring and, or re-occurring revenue streams," said Sam Sidhu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Customers Bank. "Our skilled banking team specializes in creating financing structures and offering the portfolio management services that venture capital, growth equity and private equity firms require."



The banking group, which has deep industry expertise, is co-headed by Sean McGah and Bobby Bryant, Managing Directors, respectively. McGah brings more than 15 years of total banking experience, spending the better part of a decade providing senior venture debt facilities to both independent and sponsor-backed technology companies. Bryant provides the group with more than 10 years of commercial lending experience, working with software, software-as-a-service (SaaS), healthcare tech, venture capital and private equity sponsored businesses for the bulk of his career. McGah and Bryant will focus on growing relationships with equity sponsors, private debt funds, professional management teams and other market-based COI's in order to establish the bank's national presence in the sector. Robbie Barton, Vice President, Relationship Manager, supports the team to create solutions to meet client challenges, and Keagan Latta, Associate Vice President and Portfolio Manager, rounds out the team to support the venture loan portfolio.



Customers Bank is a full-service banking partner to technology and other high-growth venture businesses spanning early stage through exit. The banking group works with a broad array of equity sponsors and top management teams to support market-leading, high-growth technology and venture businesses. The group offers unique credit and lending solutions to rapidly growing, pre-profit companies, helping them achieve scale by funding growth initiatives, extending runways and supporting mergers and acquisitions.



Customers Bank provides financial services to businesses, professionals, individuals and families through its network of branch locations, digital platforms and commercial offices. It offers deposit, commercial lending, specialty lending and consumer lending products. The bank also offers wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lockbox, remote deposit capture, courier services, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, positive pay services and more. The cash management services include account reconciliation, collections and sweep accounts. Customers Bank recently announced a blockchain-based real-time payment service for commercial clients.



To learn more about Customers Bank and its products and services, visit www.customersbank.com.