Walsh: Blue Gate is a new kind of business bank. We're unapologetically client focused. We work with a variety of clients, including real estate, property management, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare and service-oriented industries, as well as high-net-worth individuals. Each and every one of these clients has a need for a personalized approach to banking. What makes Blue Gate unique is that we're very passionate about what we do. We partner with our clients, pairing them up with a relationship manager and senior manager to look at their business plan and work with them on out-of-the-box strategies to achieve their goals. We offer more flexibility than the “credit-scored” lending practices of big banks. Our philosophy is, if our clients are successful, so are we.

GlobeSt.com: What are the challenges community business banks face today, and how are you meeting them?

Walsh: A lot of the challenges facing community business banks, or all banks for that matter, hinge on the interests of their investors. It's the investors who in large part establish the culture of a bank, and that works its way into all facets of the business—from senior management to the products they offer to their clients. Blue Gate is extremely fortunate to have investors with both decades of banking experience and a real passion for this type of work and the good it can do for a community. That gives us greater flexibility in the way we partner with our clients.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about your bank?

Walsh: Blue Gate Bank is one of just a few banks in the nation since 2009 to receive approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for a new charter, and we're the first in California to open. Getting a new charter is a much more rigorous course than it once was. Much of Blue Gate's success was based on the solid backing we have from our investors and our comprehensive business plan, which has projections to be profitable in our second year.

COSTA MESA, CA—A lot of the challenges facing community business banks—or all banks, for that matter—hinge on the interests of their investors, who in large part establish the culture of a bank, Blue Gate Bank's director of banking Chris Walsh tells GlobeSt.com. Blue Gate, a community bank with a leadership team of industry veterans who each bring 20-plus years of experience to the table, recently opened its doors here, marking it the first de novo bank to open locally since 2009. We spoke with Walsh, who offers nearly four decades of banking-industry expertise, about how the company is helping local businesses grow and sustain their organizations with products and services tailored to their needs, including real estate lending.

GlobeSt.com: Tell us the Blue Gate story.

Walsh: Blue Gate Bank was founded on the principles of helping small- to mid-sized businesses grow and achieve success, and that, in a large part, also helps the community. Our founders, Molly Gallaher Flater and Bill Gallaher, our board members and investors come from a strong banking background in Northern California. They know what the work of a community bank entails and are passionate about the positive impact Blue Gate can have on its clientele and the community as a whole. We are 100% committed to being a new kind of business bank that is bold, responsive, nimble and focused on the success of our clients.

GlobeSt.com: What makes Blue Gate different for the companies you serve?

Walsh: Blue Gate is a new kind of business bank. We're unapologetically client focused. We work with a variety of clients, including real estate, property management, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare and service-oriented industries, as well as high-net-worth individuals. Each and every one of these clients has a need for a personalized approach to banking. What makes Blue Gate unique is that we're very passionate about what we do. We partner with our clients, pairing them up with a relationship manager and senior manager to look at their business plan and work with them on out-of-the-box strategies to achieve their goals. We offer more flexibility than the “credit-scored” lending practices of big banks. Our philosophy is, if our clients are successful, so are we.

GlobeSt.com: What are the challenges community business banks face today, and how are you meeting them?

Walsh: A lot of the challenges facing community business banks, or all banks for that matter, hinge on the interests of their investors. It's the investors who in large part establish the culture of a bank, and that works its way into all facets of the business—from senior management to the products they offer to their clients. Blue Gate is extremely fortunate to have investors with both decades of banking experience and a real passion for this type of work and the good it can do for a community. That gives us greater flexibility in the way we partner with our clients.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about your bank?

Walsh: Blue Gate Bank is one of just a few banks in the nation since 2009 to receive approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for a new charter, and we're the first in California to open. Getting a new charter is a much more rigorous course than it once was. Much of Blue Gate's success was based on the solid backing we have from our investors and our comprehensive business plan, which has projections to be profitable in our second year.