Promontory Interfinancial rebrands as IntraFi, looks to diversify
Promontory recently rebranded itself with a pithier name: IntraFi Network. The new name is meant to reflect the company's core mission of partnering with banks and to help it grow and move beyond the service for which it's best known: reciprocal deposits. The company built a system that enables depositors — such as municipal departments, public schools and high-net-worth individuals — to hold large sums with their primary institution without losing Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage. IntraFi parcels out balances that exceed the $250,000 FDIC limit to other banks within the network. This service also helps community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions gather the capital they need to lend to underserved communities. Customers keep their relationship with their own bank and don't know that IntraFi is involved. Bill Dana, vice chairman of the $261.5 million-asset Central Bank of Kansas City in Missouri, notes that it’s difficult for CDFIs to attract high-balance depositors. “You’re serving a low- to moderate-income community, so by definition there are not a lot of deposit dollars available in your marketplace.”