Stemming from merger with Auto Club Trust, FSB, Grasshopper secures capital to support expansion of consumer and business banking offerings

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Grasshopper, the client-first, full service digital bank, today announced it concluded a $46.6 million funding round. Patriot Financial Partners LP led the funding round, with additional participation from Glendon Capital Management.

This investment supported Grasshopper Bank’s merger with Auto Club Trust, FSB in April 2025, and will fuel the continued expansion of its award-winning digital platform, enhancing its suite of banking solutions for businesses while also laying the foundation for a broader range of offerings for consumers. From secure depository accounts and flexible lending solutions to intuitive financial tools that support growth at every stage, Grasshopper is gearing up to deliver a more comprehensive and inclusive digital banking experience.

Following a year of enormous growth in 2024, Grasshopper has maintained that momentum through the first half of 2025. Through a combination of organic growth and the Auto Club Trust acquisition, total assets grew 53% to $1.33 billion, total deposits increased 81% to $2.37 billion, and total loans of $961.8 million at June 30, 2025 were up 49%, when compared to December 31, 2024.

With the infusion of new capital, Grasshopper is poised to accelerate its upward trajectory, scaling its technology, expanding its product offerings, and deepening its commitment to delivering leading-edge, digital banking solutions that meet the evolving needs of both businesses and consumers.

“From the beginning, our vision has been to redefine what digital banking can do for entrepreneurs, modern businesses, and the ecosystem that supports them. With our recent acquisition, we are excited to expand that vision to serve consumers through our affinity banking partnership with The Auto Club Group,” said Mike Butler, CEO of Grasshopper. “The backing from this seasoned group of investors is a powerful vote of confidence in our mission, our strategy and our team. We’re incredibly proud of the momentum we’ve built, and we’re just getting started. This capital gives us the opportunity to continue pushing boundaries, broaden our reach, and unlock new possibilities in how we deliver meaningful, future-ready digital banking experiences that meet people where they are and anticipate where they’re headed next.”

New Board Members to Oversee Strategic Growth

Embarking on this next chapter, Grasshopper also welcomes the addition of four new prominent industry executives to its Board of Directors. They will join Mike Butler, Grasshopper CEO, and the six standing members of the board.

The newly appointed board members include:

• James Fitzgerald: Fitzgerald boasts a long career in banking, being the retired former Chief Administrative and Chief Financial Officer of Eastern Bankshares Inc. and Eastern Bank. He helped the company grow from $8 billion in assets to over $25 billion at the end of 2024. During his time, he oversaw the company’s IPO and three major bank acquisitions. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Citizens Financial Group, followed by Chief Financial Officer for NBH Holdings Corporation.
• Brian Graham: Graham is a co-founder and partner in the Klaros Group, an advisory and investment firm focused on the intersection of banking and fintech/nonbank financial services. Graham’s background spans executive leadership, investment strategy, and public policy. Previously, he served as CEO of BancAlliance, an SVP of CapitalSource and founder of CapitalSource Bank, and also an investment partner focusing on financial services investments for Blue Ridge Capital Management. He was also an operating executive of Fannie Mae, a senior financial services aide to then Congressman Charles E. Schumer, and staff member in the US Department of Treasury.
• Karen Solomon: Solomon is a bank regulatory lawyer with more than three decades of experience spanning the public and private sectors. For most of her career, she was a senior lawyer at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where her tenure included serving as the agency’s acting chief counsel. She is currently a senior of counsel in the financial services practice at Covington & Burling, LLP, where she works with fintech companies and banks of all sizes.
• John M. Surgent, CPA: Surgent brings a long entrepreneurial history, having founded GMS Surgent CPA’s, a firm specializing in taxation and financial reporting, Surgent Professional Education, the largest provider of Continuing Professional Education to CPAs in the United States (sold to a private equity firm), and JM Surgent Capital, which uses its own fully discretionary capital base to invest in private equity, real estate, alternative assets and mezzanine type lending.

United in their mission to set the standard for how digital banks can better serve communities, the newly appointed board and Grasshopper’s dynamic leadership team are focused on deepening the bank’s impact and delivering cutting-edge financial experiences to a wider, more diverse audience than ever before.

To learn more about Grasshopper, visit www.grasshopper.bank.

About Grasshopper Bank

With total assets of approximately $1.4 billion, Grasshopper Bank is a client-first, full service digital bank. Grasshopper Bank replaces the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to banking with a suite of products and services tailored to specific industries and a passionate team of experts with deep expertise in their fields. Grasshopper Bank’s banking solutions cover small businesses, startups, venture capital and private equity firms, fintech-focused Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and commercial API banking platforms, SBA lending, commercial real estate lending, yacht lending, and white-labeled consumer banking. Headquartered in New York, New York, the bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and is an Equal Housing/Equal Opportunity Lender. For more information, visit Grasshopper Bank’s website at www.grasshopper.bank or follow Grasshopper Bank on LinkedIn or X.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Heather Valle
heather@calibercorporateadvisers.com

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