There is immense potential in Wilmington’s real estate combined with immense risk. With the fall of Cape Fear Bank and Cooperative Bank, there is no longer a bank in Wilmington built for and by the people that live here.

But in their wake, what type of bank can do it right in Wilmington? Diversification outside of the market is a key.

“Number one, they’re diversified across more than just the coastal market, and number two they were relatively conservative,” said Tony Plath, a banking and finance professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte who monitors banking in North Carolina.

Another important element is capital along with strong deposits.

“The banks who will do well along the coastal markets, or really anywhere, will be those who have strong capital, a diversified loan portfolio with limited concentrations by loan type, and who maintain and promote a strong core deposit platform,” said Chris Marinac, an analyst with FIG Partners in Atlanta. Marinac likes Crescent State’s emphasis on small business.

Crescent State Bank, of Cary, purchased Wilmington’s Port City Capital Bank in 2006. At the time of the purchase, Port City Capital Bank had total assets of $169.9 million and total deposits of $155.7 million.

“It was a successful bank,” said Ray Grace, deputy commissioner of North Carolina Banks. “A lot of that was timing, too. If they wouldn’t have been acquired, there is no way of knowing whether they would’ve been caught in the fast-developing real estate market.”

For a bank in Wilmington to succeed it must overcome a reliance on a real estate market that went bust.

“You can’t put all of your assets in those categories in land acquisition and commercial real estate. You can’t do it all on spec development properties, you have to have shopping centers, you have to have manufacturing, fisheries and import and export,” Plath said, pointing to BB&T, RBC Centura and First Citizens as successful banks with a strong track record in Wilmington and in North Carolina.

The closure of the two local banks fully ushers in an era of new standards. “We’re going back to more traditional lending criteria,” said University of North Carolina Wilmington economic analyst Woody Hall. “We had some pretty lax standards – nationally and locally.”