Feb. 21—Walden Mutual Bank, the first mutual bank chartered in the state in a century and the first in the country since 1973, is now open to the public.

In October, the bank received final approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the state Banking Department.

The bank's motto is "grow your change" and supports New England and New York's food economy.

"We still had some work to do getting all of our software and core processors for the bank set up," said CEO Charley Cummings. "We essentially ran a pilot with a couple hundred people off our waitlist for the last month."

The bank, which opened to the public about three weeks ago, started with about $3.3 million in seed money and raised $24 million in special deposit shares from more than 230 community investors.

The bank will mostly operate online, but the bank's headquarters at 66 N. Main St. in Concord will have some limited in-person services available.

"Anyone can now open an account through our website," Cummings said.

A mutual bank is similar to a credit union cooperative but can offer insurance through the FDIC.

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 of Walden Local but remains chairman.

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.

Unlike stock banks, the mutual bank does not have shareholders.

The bank is in the position to close on $20 to $25 million in loans in the first quarter of being open.

"We had time to develop a really robust lending pipeline as we made our way through the chartering process," Cummings said.

"We made a loan to a wholesale bakery business that was opening a retail location," Cummings said. "We subsequently developed a relationship and made a loan to a group of producers of fresh flour who were the supplier to that bakery."

Cummings said the bank is also looking to close on a loan for a grower of grain which works with the flour producer.

"We are truly committed to trying to build a more vibrant and sustainable food ecosystem," Cummings said. "The more dollars we can divert to these kinds of enterprises the more impactful we can be in that regard."

He wants potential depositors to know where they bank matters.

"It can contribute to something very positive and impactful right here in the community or it can finance a fossil fuel project on the other side of the world," Cummings said.

The bank has 11 full-time employees and had nearly 10,000 depositors on its waiting list before opening. Cummings would not disclose how many customers they have since opening.

Most are from New England or New York, but anyone can deposit online, he said.

"We've been super encouraged by our progress so far," he said.