DETROIT – FlagStar Bank has become the founding partner for the North American FinTech Hub, Detroit FinTech Bay has announced. 

A key mission of Detroit FinTech Bay will be to drive collaboration between the great minds creating innovative FinTech solutions, and the institutions who need those solutions. Within the space, the community of residents, investors, and institutions will thrive through leadership courses and activities, monthly classes, hackathons, demo days, pitch practice, mentorship relationships, and more. Talent development, education and access to investment capital are additional hallmarks of the FinTech hub model.

“We are pleased to have Flagstar on board as our first founding partner in Detroit,” said Maissan Almaskati, managing partner of the FinTech Consortium. “Flagstar’s commitment to fintech, and especially their commitment to Detroit and Michigan, make them a great fit for Detroit FinTech Bay. Their investment in Detroit’s fintech ecosystem comes at an important time in their history, as great strides are being made in Flagstar’s fintech offerings.”

As the nation’s fifth largest bank mortgage originator, Flagstar has a historical legacy in the fintech mortgage industry. Today, Flagstar is on a path to broaden its presence, both geographically and technologically. Flagstar is expanding its footprint in retail banking with the purchase of 52 Wells Fargo bank branches, expected to close at the beginning of December. The company is also showing its commitment to investing in technology with the hire of Jennifer Charters as CIO this past June. With over 24 years of experience in information technology, Charters will lead strategic IT initiatives and solutions for Flagstar.

“Partnering with Detroit FinTech Bay is a strategic partnership for Flagstar Bank,” said Jennifer Charters, Flagstar Bank’s chief information officer. “We’re excited to work alongside innovative startups, corporations and investors as we explore opportunities to collaborate on our ever expanding lineup of technology-enabled solutions—all while partnering to support this fintech ecosystem in our backyard.”

The model of bringing together banks, corporations and startups has a proven track record of accelerating creativity and growth for everyone involved, based on findings from the original FinTech Bays in Singapore and Bahrain, where over 600 startups completed the program.

Businesses and financial institutions interested in becoming founding or corporate partners, or in incubating new innovations, as well as startups interested in becoming residents of the coworking space can now submit an application.