When the organizers of Great Nations Bank started planning to open a completely independent banking center in east Norman more than four years ago, they had no idea it would coincide with a financial meltdown so severe it would draw comparisons to the Great Depression.

Grady McCorkle, president and CEO of Great Nations Bank, said he thought it would take six months to open the front doors once applications to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Oklahoma State Banking Department were approved in May 2008.

It ended up taking 17 months, McCorkle said.

"We started raising capital in May of 2008," he said. "And by the middle of September of that year, the market had really hit a wall.

"So, naturally it slowed down at that point."

McCorkle said the bank possibly could've opened earlier, but he didn't want to send that kind of message.

"We wanted to open up a permanent structure, not a temporary structure," he said. "We just wanted to show people that we're here to stay in Norman."

The bank, 2200 Alameda St., opened in late September but hasn't had an official grand opening. McCorkle said that is done for training purposes.

"You want to make sure all the bugs are worked out, that all the kinks are out," he said. "You have to make sure the staff is ready for the grand opening.

"We're at that point now, we're ready to go."

McCorkle, who has been in banking for decades, said GNB offers all the services of larger banks, including investments, small business loans, consumer lending and remote deposit captures for business clients.

They're just not a large bank.

"A lot of people, especially now, are looking for an alternative to the big banks," he said. "We're here in east Norman and we can give them that."

Through the process and despite an economy that collapsed and is now showing hints of recovery, McCorkle never wavered in his belief in GNB. Or the people he worked with to build it from the ground up.

"We had a dedicated group of organizers, our management team was in place and we knew where we wanted to go," he said. "Seeing this through and opening this bank was a testament to our commitment to getting this done in a challenging financial environment."