Ten years ago, Primary Bank was opened by local business leaders with a mission to strengthen NH by ensuring small businesses had access to the capital they needed to grow. Today, with four branches across southern NH, the bank is celebrating its 10th anniversary and reaffirming its founding promise.
The idea for the bank took shape in the years following the 2008–2009 financial crisis. Five local founders—each a small-business owner—experienced firsthand how difficult it had become to secure financing from large national banks. “These individuals had always accessed capital to grow their small businesses,” says Crystal Dionne, president and CEO. “But this was becoming difficult and as time went on, the difficulties continued.”
At the same time, NH was seeing a troubling trend: the disappearance of community banks. That loss, Dionne says, “is what drove these founders to bring Primary Bank to life.”
Since then, Primary Bank has emerged as one of the state’s fastest-growing financial institutions, with total assets reaching $734 million at the end of the third quarter of this year. “We’ve been one of the strongest and fastest growing banks in the state’s history,” Dionne says. “This is predominantly because there are so few choices for small businesses to access capital.”
In the past year alone, three more local banks were absorbed by larger out-of-state institutions. “They’re not lending to the degree that small businesses need,” Dionne notes. “Choices are continuing to dwindle.”
For Primary Bank, the path forward is clear. “Our vision for the future is to keep doing what we’re doing and that involves getting our message out that community banking is so necessary,” Dionne says.
She points out that small and mid-sized businesses are the backbone of the state’s economy. “New Hampshire is different from other states because small businesses keep the state strong. That’s our mission and what we intend to keep doing.”
With a staff of 65 employees, the bank operates much like the entrepreneurial businesses it serves. “Our team is second to none,” Dionne says. “We all live here, work here, raise our families here. We’re involved in the community, and we pride ourselves on being an entrepreneurial bank.”
For Dionne, who says she talks to clients every day, the work remains deeply fulfilling. “I love the work I do,” she says.
