Five Star Bank Joins Newly Launched Banking as a Service (BaaS) Association

WARSAW, N.Y., June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Five Star Bank (the “Bank”), subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI), announced today that it has joined a newly launched Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Association as a founding member. The association was formed by Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB), a bankers-only social+ platform for collaboration and education.

“Banking-as-a-Service and fintech partnerships are enabling Five Star Bank to broaden its reach on a scale that could not otherwise be realized by a community bank of our size,” said Sean Willett, EVP, Chief Administrative Officer. “The BHB BaaS Association provides us a fantastic opportunity to benefit from and collaborate with similarly focused, innovative and leading community banks and other fintech partners on best practices, setting of industry standards and ensuring regulatory expectations are met.”

The BHB BaaS Association is a premiere governance association with the purpose of promoting, creating, and supporting Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and is aimed at serving the unique needs of BaaS sponsor banks. The Association seeks to:

• Coordinate legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts to encourage the responsible delivery of BaaS by federally insured depository institutions.
• Promote best practices and standards for the delivery of BaaS products to non-banks.
• Build a community of like-minded bankers and other industry participants to share experiences, insights, and learnings.
• Connect federally insured financial institutions to the technology partners who will help them facilitate a successful BaaS program.

BaaS is seeing a tremendous increase in bank participants fueled by rapid expansion in fintech funding and a constant supply of new startups. It is a highly specialized business that requires unique technology, regulatory and compliance expertise, and operational capabilities.

Tanner Mayo, co-founder of BHB, said, “Bankers delivering BaaS are leaders in profitability and innovation. It is essential that banks getting into this space do so in a safe, sound, and regulatory compliant way. This association is intended to help them embrace the opportunities of BaaS, while proactively identifying and mitigating risks.”

About Five Star Bank

Five Star Bank is a $5 billion community bank offering a wide range of consumer and commercial banking and lending services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses through a network of more than 45 locations throughout Western and Central New York and a commercial loan production office in Ellicott City (Baltimore), Maryland. Five Star Bank has a dedicated team of nearly 600 employees who are committed to giving back through a variety of non-profit organizations and neighborhood charities.

Five Star Bank offers a broad range of insurance services to personal and business clients through SDN Insurance Agency, LLC. Additionally, the Bank offers customized investment management, investment consulting, and retirement plan services to individuals, businesses, institutions, foundations, and retirement plans through Courier Capital, LLC and HNP Capital, LLC. Additional Five Star Bank information is available at five-starbank.com and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. 

Separately, through affiliate Corn Hill Innovation Labs, LLC, Five Star Bank enables fintechs and non-bank financials to offer banking products and services to their end customers, including deposit services, card issuance, compliance and operational capabilities, payments, and lending services.

Five Star Bank, SDN Insurance Agency, LLC, Courier Capital, LLC, HNP Capital, LLC and Corn Hill Innovation Labs, LLC are subsidiaries of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI). Financial Institutions, Inc. stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Additional information is available at fiiwarsaw.com.

About Bankers Helping Bankers

​Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) is a bankers-only social+ platform for collaboration and education. Through data tools and dynamic user groups, BHB provides community bankers with a knowledge base focused on bank technology and emerging Fintech companies, as well as hot topics such as cryptocurrencies, banking-as-a-service, becoming a sponsor bank, and launching a direct digital brand. The BHB platform is free for bankers, reaching 75% of the banks. Join the movement to help save community banking. For more information, please visit: https://bankershelpingbankers.com/bhb-baas-association/

For additional information contact:
W. Jack Plants II
Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Five Star Bank and Financial Institutions, Inc.
(585) 498-2919
wjplants@five-starbank.com