Lauren Sparks was ready for a big 2020.
In March of last year she filed an application for her de novo bank--an institution like few others around. The Houston-based Agility Bank is owned by women, run by women, and has the advancement of women’s careers in finance at the heart of its mission. As Lauren tells it, she wants Agility to be the community bank of the future, not just in its mission to work with underserved businesses and communities, but in its digital-first approach to business banking. In fact, Agility is the only Houston bank today with a strategy of primarily originating loans on a fintech platform.
Despite best efforts, the pandemic had other plans for every business, regardless of industry or region. Agility, like many others, had to adapt and delayed opening its doors.
But Lauren hasn’t allowed these unexpected obstacles to stop the progress on her institution’s vision of community banking.
Over the last year, she and her team have worked to thoughtfully incorporate technology throughout the Agility Bank customer experience in ways that delight clients without eliminating the human touch of any great relationship.
Now, with vaccination rates improving and a return to normal on the horizon, Lauren is gearing up for the Agility’s grand opening this summer.
On May 18, Agility Bank CEO Lauren Sparks joined us for a special edition of our Weekly Tuesday Insights Session for a fireside chat on her institution’s digital-first approach to business banking where a number of topics were discussed, including:
- How Agility Bank came to be
- The importance of digital-first (not digital only) banking
- Agility’s mission to help underserved and minority-owned businesses in their community
- Building fintech partnerships
- Addressing businesses’ needs coming out of the pandemic
Learn more about Agility Bank by watching a replay of our fireside chat, here.
