POULSBO — Sitting around a conference table, ties loosened and expressions pleasant, the four members of the Liberty Bank management team are a study in composure.

Two years ago, the journey of creating a new community bank in Kitsap began, its leaders little knowing what economic tailspin would occur. Markets crashed, stocks plummeted and several industries were sent into despair. But the four executives of Liberty Bank appear no less harried for it.

In fact, they’re on the road to showing just how good bad times can be for startups. And they’re getting nationwide attention for it.

“We haven’t caught a break. Everything that’s happened has somehow impacted us,” said Liberty Bank CEO and President Bill Fogarty. “But the main thing is, this is something we’re not willing to give up on.”

That’s clear, as the bank is now collecting the last 20 percent of its startup capital. More than 200 community members have made investments in the bank; on the day of this interview, two unsolicited investors made their way to the yet-unopened offices to nab the opportunity.

With much of its banking competition facing mergers and acquisitions, and a pent-up demand for lending from the public, Liberty Bank’s clean slate is proving its worth.

“We’re one of the few alternatives right now,” Fogarty explained. As many institutions put a hold on lending, he notes Liberty Bank, once opened, won’t follow that path. “Businesses need a bank that’s there to support them and be a partner, not just take advantage of when business is good.”

An investment in Liberty Bank, said Chief Operating Officer Paul Uhlig, isn’t likely to be a repeat of the volatile financial roller coaster many have experienced of late.

“There’s no emotion tied to it at all,” he said. “It’s all related to what the company’s worth.”

After that “one more good push” from investors, Liberty Bank’s executives say they’ll provide a customer-friendly, tech-savvy operation. Technically, they contend, a customer will never need to set foot in the bank — but they may want to, as the group has transformed itself an office space on Poulsbo’s Seventh Avenue complete with a community boardroom.

The four also express a frustration at the media coverage of big bank bailouts. Community banks, unlike larger money centers, had much less to do with subprime lending, they say.

Working to reverse the prevailing public mistrust amidst talk of million dollar bonuses and speculation of a government-created “bad bank,” Fogarty calls his team “four people who want to do it right.”

Though a couple investors, at the height of the crash, pulled their financial commitments, Liberty Bank has been catching interest from investors all over the country as it spreads its name via the Internet. It isn’t alone, though it is among the few, as just 72 banks opened during 2008 – 127 less than in 2007.

Once the startup capital is in place, Liberty Bank can begin lending to the Kitsap community, taking full advantage of being born after the bust.

Chief Lending Officer Leslie Peterson, who admits the tumultuous economy was an unforeseen occurrence, says when the bank’s doors open, it will be all the better for having suffered the struggle.

“It’s going to be so fulfilling the day we open our doors,” she said, her studied countenance giving way to a smile. “The day we open the doors we’ll know there’s nothing in the world we can’t do.”