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Wendy Cai-Lee leads one of the latest crop of U.S. de novo banks: Piermont Bank, opened to address “pain points” faced by middle-market businesses. Often privately owned and multigenerational family-operated, these businesses have complex financial needs based on the intertwining of ancillary businesses and commercial real estate ownership, combined with unique personal banking and wealth management concerns for the business owners. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Cai-Lee also discusses: How Piermont’s “tech-enabled but not tech-driven” approach sets it apart from nonbank fintech lenders and other banks. The outlook for commercial real estate in Piermont Bank’s market, including decreased appraisal values across the board for retail-heavy properties. Piermont’s business and regulatory experience as part of a small wave of de novos after nearly a decade of virtually no de novo activity. The importance of diversity to Piermont Bank, a woman-founded bank whose board is half women.