Walden Mutual Bank first of its kind in 100 years to open in Concord after FDIC approval
Oct. 7—Walden Mutual Bank will be the first mutual bank chartered in the state in a century — and the first in the country since 1973 — after receiving approval this week from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the state Banking Department.
The bank officially will open in the coming weeks.
CEO Charley Cummings said the company raised $24 million in capital through "special deposit shares" from more than 230 investors. The bank will be poised to lend about $300,000, with $50,000 in potential loans in the pipeline.
"We will begin to fund them as the deposits come in," he said.
The bank, which received its conditional state approval in May, already had started making loans through seed money and partnerships with other banks. The bank started with about $3.3 million in seed money.
Walden Mutual Bank, headquartered at 66 N. Main St. in Concord, will mostly serve customers online. The bank has 8,500 on its waiting list and employs eight people full time.
Anyone can deposit money into the bank, but lending will be focused on commercial food and agriculture operations across New England and New York. Walden Mutual will not offer consumer lending, such as mortgages and personal loans. Commercial lending will focus on farms, distributors, consumer-branded food products and other like-minded businesses.
The loans will support land purchases, equipment, refinancing, organic transitions, working capital and more.
The bank will open to the general public the last week of October or early November.
"It feels good to be able to turn to the task that we set out to, which was to actually grow the business and help this ecosystem," Cummings said.
A mutual bank is similar to a credit union but can offer insurance through the FDIC. Cummings has previously said one of the reasons for choosing the mutual bank model is to raise investment capital, while a credit union needs to be started with grants. Unlike stock banks, the mutual bank does not have shareholders.
The New Hampshire Banking Association has 17 mutual banks among its members. Of those, 11 are chartered in New Hampshire and the others are chartered in nearby states with a presence here.
In 1914, mutual banks accounted for 80% of deposits across New England but disappeared in favor of traditional investor ownership, Cummings said. Such banks don't always align with the depositors' values and support efforts like industrial farms and fossil fuel development, he said.
Cummings founded Massachusetts-based Walden Local, which delivers grass-fed beef and other locally raised products. He said he saw the demand grow during the COVID-19 pandemic as supply chains for national brands broke down. He has since stepped down as CEO but remains chairman.
The opening of the bank came with challenges.
"The last time a mutual bank was started in this country it predates a lot of the capital rules that now exist," Cummings said. "It wasn't clear what kind of capital you could use to start a mutual bank, so that was a big part of this project."
The bank's motto will be "Grow your Change."
"Our ethos is that anyone can make positive and lasting changes to this sustainable food ecosystem," Cummings said. "We're envisioning over the long term a more inclusive, more sustainable and more local food system and we are using a bank as means to that end."
