Capital for Louisiana operators
from the bayou to the River Road.

Louisiana runs one of the most distinctive industrial mixes in the country. The petrochemical corridor along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans is one of the densest concentrations of refineries and petrochemical plants in North America, accounting for a meaningful share of US refining capacity and petrochemical output. The LNG export build-out along the Lake Charles coast — Cameron LNG, Sabine Pass, Calcasieu Pass, and the proposed Plaquemines and Driftwood projects — has made Louisiana the leading US LNG export state by a wide margin. Acadiana and South Louisiana carry one of the largest upstream and offshore oilfield-services economies in the country. On top of all of that sits New Orleans, one of the most-visited cities in the United States and the anchor of a hospitality economy that runs through the French Quarter, the Garden District, the Marigny, and the broader Crescent City. Banks, by structure, struggle to keep up with that mix. Goliath was built to.

Our Louisiana pipeline reaches every region of the state. The New Orleans metro brings us the densest deal flow — the French Quarter, the CBD, the Warehouse District, Uptown, Mid-City, the Marigny, the Bywater, and out through Jefferson, St. Tammany, and St. Bernard parishes. The Baton Rouge Capital Region covers the petrochemical River Road, downtown Baton Rouge, and the LSU economy. Acadiana covers Lafayette, New Iberia, Houma, Thibodaux, and the broader Cajun heartland. North Louisiana covers Shreveport, Bossier City, and Monroe. Southwest Louisiana covers Lake Charles, Sulphur, and the LNG export coast. The Florida Parishes north of Lake Pontchartrain add Hammond, Covington, and Mandeville.

The bank-lending coverage gap in Louisiana

Louisiana has a wider small-business credit gap than people expect, particularly in the post-hurricane recovery cycle that recurs across the state. Community-bank consolidation has thinned the lender field outside New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and the surviving regional and national institutions structurally favor energy real estate, commercial real estate, and high-net-worth lending over the $50K to $400K working-capital tickets that Louisiana small businesses actually need. The result: a French Quarter restaurant rebuilding after a slow summer, a Houma oilfield-services operator waiting on a slow-paying upstream receivable, a Lake Charles contractor mobilizing for an LNG subcontract, a Shreveport medical practice — strong, deposit-rich businesses — frequently cannot get a timely yes from a bank. We fill that gap.

We are deposit-based underwriters. We read your four most recent months of business bank statements, your ledger, and how you actually operate the company. We do not require two years of tax returns, audited financials, or a 720 FICO. That approach is well-matched to the Louisiana mix because it accommodates the seasonal-revenue hospitality operator, the receivable-heavy oilfield contractor, the project-based petrochemical subcontractor, and the cash-heavy Acadiana restaurant on the same underwriting bench. We routinely fund operators in their first year as long as deposit patterns support the offer.

The Louisiana industry mix, the way we see it

Oil and gas anchors our Louisiana book — upstream and offshore service operators in Acadiana, midstream pipeline and gathering across South Louisiana, downstream refinery and petrochemical contractors along the River Road, and LNG construction services along the Lake Charles coast. Tourism and hospitality anchored by New Orleans is the next-largest segment, with deep restaurant, hotel, and event-services books. Mississippi River shipping and Port of South Louisiana logistics — the Port of South Louisiana is the largest US port by tonnage in most years — drive a long-tail logistics book. Healthcare, sugarcane and rice agriculture, seafood and commercial fishing, and construction round out the top of the pipeline.

Louisiana is best understood as a set of distinct regional economies organized around the Mississippi River, the Gulf coast, and the oilfield. Below is how the major metros break down in our book.

New Orleans

New Orleans is the dominant single Louisiana market in our book and one of the most-visited cities in the United States. The hospitality economy runs through the French Quarter, Frenchmen Street, the CBD, the Warehouse District, the Garden District, and the broader Crescent City. Beyond hospitality, the Port of New Orleans and the broader Mississippi River shipping complex anchor a deep logistics book, and the petrochemical corridor that runs upriver from the city anchors a deep contractor and services book. We fund restaurants, hotels, event venues, transportation operators, drayage and 3PL companies, and the contractor and trade businesses that orbit the petrochemical river.

Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge anchors the Capital Region and combines state-government employment, the LSU economy, and one of the densest petrochemical and refining clusters in the country along the River Road south to LaPlace and Norco. We fund petrochemical and refinery subcontractors, machine shops, welding and fabrication businesses, healthcare practices, restaurants and hospitality through downtown Baton Rouge and the Mid-City corridor, and the long tail of professional-services businesses orbiting the Capitol and LSU.

Shreveport-Bossier

Shreveport-Bossier anchors North Louisiana and combines the Barksdale Air Force Base economy, the Haynesville Shale gas economy, the riverboat casino economy along the Red River, and a long-running film and television production cluster that benefits from Louisiana's tax-credit program. We fund military-adjacent service businesses, oilfield-services operators tied to the Haynesville, casino-vendor and hospitality businesses, contractor and trade businesses, and the production-services vendors that orbit the local film economy.

Lafayette

Lafayette anchors Acadiana and is the historic capital of the Louisiana oil patch. The metro economy is built on upstream and offshore oilfield services, the broader Cajun cultural and food economy, and a deepening healthcare book anchored by the Lafayette General and Our Lady of Lourdes systems. We fund oilfield-services operators, machine shops and fabrication businesses, restaurants and hospitality through downtown Lafayette and the broader Cajun heartland, and the contractor and trade businesses that support the energy economy.

Lake Charles

Lake Charles anchors Southwest Louisiana and is the center of one of the largest industrial build-outs in the country, driven by the LNG export coast — Cameron LNG, Sabine Pass (just over the Texas line), Calcasieu Pass, and the proposed Plaquemines and Driftwood projects. The metro also carries the legacy petrochemical economy and a Gulf Coast hospitality and casino economy through L'Auberge and Golden Nugget. We fund LNG-construction subcontractors, petrochemical-services contractors, casino-vendor businesses, contractor and trade businesses, and the long tail of vendor businesses orbiting the industrial coast.