New local bank planned for 2009

Company chairman Sandy Wiggins and chief executive officer Frank Baldassarre today announced the formation of e3bank and said it expects to begin operation in the first quarter of next year.

The bank will have retail offices in Malvern, its headquarters, and in Philadelphia. It is seeking a banking charter from the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The company said it has raised $2 million in capital so far from about 35 private investors and will seek to raise an additional $30 million once it has received the regulatory approvals.

The bank will be guided by principals of sustainable enterprise, restoring the environment and increasing social equity - goals from which the bank's name is derived, Wiggins and Baldassarre said.

For example, the interest rate on the bank's loan products will be tiered to reward businesses and individuals for "moving up the ladder of sustainability," they said.

Wiggins is a director and immediate past chair of the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, and founding chair of the Philadelphia-based Delaware Valley Green Building Council.

Baldassarre has more than two decades of experience in the banking industry. He also is director of the Philadelphia Sustainable Business Network and serves on the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Green Growth Partnership.