New community bank planning summer launch in midstate

The banking veteran and his leadership team – all with local finance industry connections – are planning to open a community bank in the midstate this summer with headquarters in Camp Hill.

LINKBANK is planning three branches: one in Camp Hill, one in West Chester and a third in Lancaster. The Lancaster branch has not yet been finalized, while the company has signed a lease for the Camp Hill location at 3045 Market St. Camp Hill, close to the intersection of Market Street and Route 15. The new bank is under the holding company LINKBANCORP.

The bank is still pending regulatory approvals, Samuel said, who will be its chairman and CEO. 

Samuel was a familiar face to midstate banking for several years before moving to Florida in 2014. He most recently finalized the sale of Sunshine Bancorp, a Florida bank holding company with about $1 billion in assets and 18 branches earlier this year. At the Florida bank he was president and CEO. Sunshine’s new owner is CenterState Banks Inc., also of Florida.

The midstate is Samuel’s home, he said. The former Dillsburg resident was CEO of Graystone Financial Corp. and Tower Bancorp before Susquehanna Bancshares bought Tower in 2012.

“We love the market,” Samuel said this morning in a phone interview. “We kept hearing from employees.”

All non-compete clauses also have expired, Samuel said both of himself and his team. LINKBANK wants to serve family-owned businesses and the nonprofit and retail communities, Samuel said.

Here are members of the proposed leadership team, all of whom have connections to the midstate:

• Jane Tompkins, Chief Risk Officer

• Jermaine Crosson, Chief Financial Officer

• Jeffrey Renninger, Chief Operating officer

• Tiffanie Horton, Chief Credit Officer

• Brent Smith, President

• Andrew Samuel, Chairman and CEO

“We really love our communities and wanted to work together to build a successful bank in our home community,” Samuel said.