Bee Cave-based Keystone Bank raised $18 million in its latest round of funding—with an industry expert noting that its growth makes it one of the fastest-growing banks in the country. The fresh funds will be used to expand the bank’s team, enhance its banking technology and put the four-year-old community bank on track to handle more than $1 billion in assets in the coming two years. Keystone Bank also plans to keep an open eye for additional acquisition targets.
A rendering of Keystone Bank’s corporate headquarters scheduled to open in 2023With the latest round, Keystone Bank has raised a total of $78 million in four rounds of funding since its launch in the fall of 2018. The most recent round attracted 113 investors, about 60 percent of whom were new to the bank. It has also amassed $745 million in total assets in just four years and is projected to reach $1 billion in total assets within the next 24 months.
“We’re growing by getting our name out there, one customer and meeting at a time, and by allowing people to have direct access to us,” says Jeff Wilkinson, chairman and CEO. “People in Austin and Central Texas love the community bank model.”
“Our employees are at the root of our business, so we want to continue hiring talented individuals who are as passionate about our clients and the finance world as we are,” says Bryan St. George, president. “We also want to make it easier for our customers to bank with us by investing in new technology that meets their existing and future needs.”
Keystone Bank now employs more than 60 people and recently broke ground on a new corporate headquarters site at the southeast corner of RR 620 and Ladera Blvd. in Bee Cave, a suburb of Austin. The bank anticipates moving into its new space in the third quarter of 2023. Clients include a variety of local businesses, including LALO Tequila, Atreyu Running Co., FitJoy Foods, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, Bare Performance Nutrition and Frontyard Brewing. Another client, Qualtik, is a Keystone Bank vendor, too. Qualtik has developed a software program that helps community banks and investment funds stress test and analyze commercial real estate loans in real time.
“Keystone Bank is one of the fastest growing banks in the country,” says Christopher Williston, president and CEO of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, adding that the bank has expanded in a thoughtful, responsible manner. The Austin Business Journal also named Keystone Bank one of its official “Fast 50” winners, specifically ranking No. 8 on the list of fastest-growing companies in the region with revenues over $10 million.
“While it’s uncommon to see banks grow this quickly, it’s not unprecedented when you have the right combination of a great team and market opportunities,” Williston adds, noting that Austin historically has been underserved by homegrown community banks. “[The bank] has been through cycles of growth and pull-back. Especially with the national headwinds going on right now, those kinds of insights are crucial for a community. Success breeds success. Keystone’s ability to keep raising capital from new and returning investors is a testament to what the team has accomplished thus far, and the confidence shareholders have in them to grow with the Central Texas market.”
Established in 2018, Keystone Bank operates from its headquarters in Bee Cave, a branch office in downtown Austin, and a branch at the bank’s original location in Ballinger.
Pictured above: Keystone Bank’s C-level team at the company’s recent groundbreaking for its headquarters: Riley Floyd, chief credit officer; Chris Zimmerman, chief financial officer; Susie Farley, chief operations officer; Bryan St. George, president; and Jeff Wilkinson, chairman and chief executive officer.
