Minnesota-based Stearns Bank acquired South End Capital Corporation and its digital lending platform to expand its financing options and business banking services. Noah Grayson, founder and president of South End Capital, and his team will join the St. Cloud bank as a specialized division.
Founded in 2009, South End brings a wider array of direct lending products, expanded options for banking services, and access to upgraded technology to streamline and simplify the loan process, Stearns said in a press release.
“We are thrilled about this new venture with South End Capital and excited about how much more we can do together to expand access to financing and banking services … to better serve the diverse small business community we have throughout the country,” said Kelly Skalicky, president and CEO of the $2.4 billion bank. Adding South End’s technological capabilities could also help Stearns’ outreach to unbanked and underbanked customers, she said. It will “deliver the most accessible, real-time marketplace digital platform serving the commercial sector, helping a more diverse, larger number of businesses.”
The acquisition dovetails with Stearns’ M&A focus this year, the bank said, which it launched with the formation of a three-person acquisition team in February. It had earlier announced it would concentrate on expanding its technology partnerships as well as pursuing banks between $250 million and $1.5 billion, specialty financing companies and loan portfolios.
“I couldn’t be more excited that South End Capital is now part of the Stearns Bank family,” Grayson said. “The natural synergies present between our two organizations are unmatched. South End Capital’s cutting-edge technology combined with Stearns Bank’s first-in-class customer service and customized loan programs, creates a new standard for the industry.”
Stearns Bank has eight offices in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.