10 things about … Liberty Bank

Liberty Bank of New Jersey is a rare thing in modern banking: It’s a new community
bank created not by private equity, not by out‑of‑state consolidators, but by New
Jersey people who are betting on New Jersey itself.

Its four founders, Richard Spengler (CEO/chief lender), Ryan Peene (COO), Keith
Banks (chair) and Tom Scrivo (vice chair), feel it’s a differentiator.

Here are 10 things about Liberty Bank, including how it started and why it started.

10. Liberty Bank was founded by four known Jersey leaders

Spengler, Peene and Banks bring decades of experience in commercial lending,
institutional finance, legal strategy, municipal banking, and operations. These aren’t
consultants, they are operators who’ve run banks, built teams, navigated mergers and
seen the consolidation wave from inside. Scrivo brings expertise from the legal sector.

Want more: The founders grew up here and built their careers here. To them, New
Jersey isn’t a market. It’s home.

So don’t be surprised when you see them out and about. Liberty’s founders say they are
not going to measure brand impact by billboard impressions, but by being at meetings
and summits — and having a bite at a diner.

9. Liberty Bank represents the largest community‑bank capital raise in state
history

Liberty didn’t just raise the required $40 million. It hit the $50 million ceiling, overflowed
it, and returned money. More than 350 business and community leaders bought in. No
institutional investors. Just people who believed the state needed a bank like this.

Before a charter was approved, before regulators signed off, before a location opened,
53 people wrote checks purely on faith in the team and the plan. Those early believers
gave Liberty the runway to move deliberately, not desperately.

8. Liberty Bank is filling the vacuum created by decades of consolidation

New Jersey once had 135 banks. Today, the state has approximately 50.

Liberty Bank’s founders feel consolidation didn’t just remove logos from buildings, they
feel it removed decision‑makers from communities. Branch managers now seemingly
rotate every six months and call centers are hundreds of miles away — leaving many
businesses feeling invisible, they say. Liberty Bank says it exists to serve the people
consolidation forgot.

7. Liberty Bank focuses on businesses with $75M and under in revenue — the
heart of the state’s economy

Liberty Bank officials say their sweet spot are the businesses too small to be prioritized
at the mega‑banks. Lending caps at $5 million, but there is no minimum. Their first loan
request was a $30,000 line of credit — not because it’s big money, but because it builds
a long‑term relationship.

6. Liberty Bank begins with the cleanest balance sheet in New Jersey

Liberty Bank has no legacy loans. No underwater mortgages. No half‑vacant office
buildings stuck in refinancing purgatory, their officials said.

Instead, they start fresh. Every loan is originated at today’s market rate; every asset
intentionally chosen.

5. Liberty Bank uses the newest bank technology available — not patched
systems

Liberty signed its tech contracts within the past year. The result: Faster service; fewer
points of failure.

Customers won’t see the tech — but they’ll feel the absence of friction.

4. Liberty Bank’s service model is built around direct access, not automation

Liberty officials take pride in the fact the phone rings on human desks, executives give
out their cell numbers, website inquiries go directly to senior leaders and wires are
processed by people sitting 10 feet from each other.

They say it’s banking the way New Jersey business used to operate: personal,
immediate, accountable.

3. Liberty Bank’s board is a strategic weapon, not a formality

The board blends legal leaders, financial executives, statewide influencers, former
public officials and business owners from across the state. These aren’t ceremonial
names — they are connectors. Every board member personally brings client
introductions, operational insights, and reputational capital.

Banks said the reason is simple: “It’s not just financial risk; it’s our reputations,” he said.

2. Liberty Bank is launching when thousands of N.J. businesses are becoming
“free agents”

Bank mergers have been the way of the state in recent years. And every time it
happens, thousands of historically loyal customers find themselves reevaluating their
banking home. Liberty Bank officials say they didn’t just sense the timing — they
designed their offering for this moment.

1. Liberty Bank is built to walk, not sprint — and that may be its biggest advantage of all

In an industry obsessed with scale, Liberty is deliberately pacing itself. Vice Chair
Thomas Scrivo describes their approach as: “Walk, don’t run.”

They soft‑opened the branch to work out the kinks. They’re opening just one new
branch every 12–16 months. They’re prioritizing customer experience over growth
charts. They’re measuring service before they measure scale.

In a world where many banks chase quarterly targets, Liberty is building for longevity —
brick by brick, relationship by relationship, advocate by advocate.

They say when a bank is created by 350 people who live in the same state, attend the
same events, drive the same roads and shake the same hands, the mandate is
different: It has to work — not for shareholders in another state, but for your neighbors.