Starting fresh: Five reasons why Liberty Bank feels it has built-in edge

Liberty Bank of New Jersey — created by four seasoned New Jersey executives and
backed by a “who’s who” of the state’s business community — believes it has one major
advantage as it approaches its official grand opening.

It has no legacy.

That may seem counterintuitive in a banking landscape dominated by institutions with
household names, but banking veterans Keith Banks, Richard Spengler and Ryan
Peene, along with attorney Thomas Scrivo, say this clean slate is Liberty Bank’s
greatest differentiator.

Here are the five reasons why:

5. It has today’s technology

Older banks often rely on outdated core platforms installed 10, 15 or even 20 years ago.
Upgrading them requires expensive, painful conversions that risk customer frustration
and service disruptions.

Spengler, the CEO, said Liberty Bank avoids all of that.

“We signed contracts in the last six months,” he said. “We’re getting today’s technology,
not a patched‑together system that’s two decades old.”

They’re using the latest version of Fiserv, the country’s leading core provider — not an
older iteration that many banks still run. Which means:

• No conversion
• No patchwork
• No inherited tech debt

4. No legacy loans — and none of the pain that comes with them

Most established banks are carrying loans written in the low‑rate era: 15‑, 20‑ or
30‑year mortgages at 2.5% to 3%. Commercial buildings financed at 4% are now
rolling into 7% renewals. Office portfolios are shaky. Margins are tight.

Liberty has none of that.

Instead, Liberty originates every loan at current market rates, giving it stronger yields
and a cleaner balance sheet.

3. Lower compliance burden through automation

A decade ago, new regulations hit small banks hard. Institutions hired entire
departments just to keep up. But the industry evolved, Spengler said.

What once required dozens of people now relies on modern software: automated risk
scoring, instant name checks, integrated fraud monitoring.

“Compliance is less labor intensive now than it was 10 years ago,” Spengler said.
“Technology caught up. We have the most modern tools from Day One.”

2. A cleaner growth runway

Legacy institutions grow with friction. Liberty grows without it.

It doesn’t have:

• branches it needs to close;
• costly technology conversions on the horizon;
• outdated processes to unwind;
• low‑yield assets weighing down returns.

Instead, it starts with new customers, clean loans, modern tech and a cost structure
built for 2026, Spengler said.

1. Customer experience

All the clean systems in the world don’t matter if customers can’t reach real people.

Spengler said Liberty’s biggest advantage is that its customer experience was designed
before it had customers — intentionally, not retrofitted.

• Phones ring on real desks;
• Emails go to real executives;
• Decisions are made by people 10 feet apart;
• Service is immediate.

In a consolidating, increasingly complex and margin‑tight industry, Spengler believes
Liberty Bank’s greatest asset may simply be this: It starts with none of the baggage —
and all of the tools.