New Community Bank Open for Business
American United Bank, an enterprise of many leading Indian-Americans in Georgia had a grand opening on Monday, the 20th of December. The 4500 sq. ft office at the intersection of Old Norcross Road and Cruse Road in Gwinnett is the temporary home of the bank, as construction on a new two story 12,000 sq. ft building will begin early next year and will resemble the White House.
There are several factors that are responsible for the recent community bank boom. For one, housing and commercial development are drawing more banks into the market. Consolidation in the financial industry where larger banks typically gobble up smaller ones is leaving plenty of room for the new banks to jump into the mix. Gwinnett population is expected to top 800,000 and median income will grow 13 percent to 72,737 by 2008. Of the 42 financial institutions in Gwinnett, 25 have been around for more than five years and of that group, only two reported fewer deposits in that time. The increasing economic power of minorities is another market trend supporting AUB. The minority owned AUB will offer services and products for the growing minority population, including programs on the fundamentals of home ownership.
Gwinnett has been aggressive in the development of new business on the outskirts of Atlanta, and the county leadership met the needs of that economic growth", says AUB President Glenn Thompson. This is the third time the veteran community banker with over 30 years of banking industry experience has helped bring a new bank to the market.
AUB organizers broke all speed records by raising 10.1 Million dollars in capital for the new bank within a time frame of six weeks. Mr. P.I. Joy, a prominent businessman is the Chairman of the AUB.
The bank features an enviable eleven member board of directors represented by prominent businessmen, professionals, community leaders & diplomats and is diversified with members from the American, Asian-Indian and Jewish communities. They are Mr. P.I. Joy, Mr. Glenn Thompson, Mr. Chandler Sharma, Maj. Gen. David Poythress, Mr. Surinder Bahl, Mr. G. S. Pannu, Mr. William F Rubin, Mr. Kanti Patel, Dr. Naresh Parekh, Mr. James M Jett, Dr. Palamalai Mahizhnan.
"We wanted to start a bank in the right place, at the right time with the right people. That eventually led to the genesis of AUB after two long and hard years. Today we believe that our hard work has paid off because we have a dream team. We hope to set new records and standards in the industry" says Mr. P.I. Joy and Mr. Chandler Sharma. Both men spearheaded the effort to create a new bank.
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