Equity Development, Inc. Opens for Business

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NORFOLK, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Equity Development, Incorporated, a new investment banking firm, opened for business August 1^st to provide advisory, mergers and acquisition and consulting services, as well as raising capital for community banks and insurance companies, among other businesses with strategic needs. Principals of the Firm come from both investment banking and commercial banking backgrounds. With offices in Norfolk, Virginia’s World Trade Center, the three veteran bankers who started the Firm said they hope to open an office in the Triangle Region of North Carolina in the near future.

D. Ben Berry, CEO of the new Firm, said, “after starting Gateway Financial Corporation in 1998, growing it to $2.2 Billion of assets, and then working with private equity groups to buy and recapitalize banks, I have spent most of my time over the past 13 years raising capital.” “Investment banking is a natural for me,” he added. Prior to founding Gateway Financial, Berry was a senior officer with RBC Centura, and managed the eastern North Carolina and Tidewater Virginia markets for the Bank.

Since 1998, the son of Norfolk’s former mayor, Vince Thomas, has provided investment banking services to community banks and other financial institutions with a primary focus in assisting those institutions in finding and raising operational and growth capital. He helped found the new Firm after successful careers at McKinnon & Company, of Norfolk, VA and Griffin Financial Group, of Pennsylvania, both investment banking firms specializing in community banks. Mr. Thomas served as Senior Vice President at both firms. He was also a Vice President – Institutional Sales with Anderson & Strudwick and an advisor to high net worth clients and institutions with a focus on financial institution stocks with Fulton Bank and UBS as well as Davenport and Company.

An eight member Board of Directors, chaired by J. Timothy O’Rourke, a veteran banking consultant, will provide governance for the Firm. The Firm is also an affiliate of FINRA-member Medalist Securities, Inc., a Richmond, VA investment management Firm, which will provide regulatory compliance services. Chairman O’Rourke, who founded Equity Development, Inc. with the two Principals, is also Chairman, President and CEO of Matthews, Young & Associates, Inc., a 40 year old consulting Firm with a deep commercial banking practice. O’Rourke said, “Most of the financial industry needs a capital infusion. Those institutions that have or acquire the capital will have opportunity like never before and those that need capital and fail to get it will be looking for a partner institution with which to merge. We hope to assist every one of those institutions.”

CONTACT:

Equity Development, Inc.
D. Ben Berry or Vincent G. Thomas II, 757-222-9860
Ben.Berry@EquityDevInc.com
Vince.Thomas@EquityDevInc.com
or
Matthews, Young & Associates, Inc.
J. Timothy O’Rourke, 919-644-6962, Ext 1109
Tim.ORourke@MatthewsYoung.com
or
Press Inquiries: Info@EquityDevInc.com
Interested Investors: Tim.ORourke@MatthewsYoung.com