Kitsap County’s newest community bank has made a national list for being one of the safest banks in the U.S.

Poulsbo-based Liberty Bay Bank, founded in 2009, is one of 359 banks in the country and one of three in Washington state least likely to fail, according to an article published by MSN Money.

More than 400 banks have failed since 2008 — but Liberty Bay Bank has actually grown.

The “safest bank” list was put together using the Texas Ratio, a metric formula that looks at individual bank’s equity and loan reserves against non-performing loans (loans past-due on their payments).

CEO Rick Darrow said the bank has not experienced a single dollar of loss on its loan and lease portfolio. He said the key to the bank’s successful credit rating is finding responsible clients.

“One of the things that defines Liberty Bay Bank is that [we’re] building on developing relationships,” Darrow said. “I know you hear that from a lot of bankers … [But] by hiring some of the best bankers that we can, they network, they get to know the members of the community, [we] end up with a strong relationship … The strength of that relationship is going to end up providing the kind of credit quality we have.”

Darrow said when he heard of the “safest bank” list, it was welcome news, but didn’t surprise him. He said the bank was founded by local owners that build relationships with its clients.

“This has been a challenging environment, the economy hasn’t recovered yet,” Darrow said. “To build a successful bank in this tough economic times really speaks to a competency that we’ve developed.” He said founding right after the recession hit in 2008 allowed them to learn from the mistakes of others.

Liberty Bay Bank currently has 400 clients and is looking to grow. Last year, the FDIC ranked Liberty Bay Bank as the third largest market share of deposits in Poulsbo — over nine other banks, including Chase. Its loan portfolio is close to $37 million, and ranked seventh in net loan growth among all  64 commercial Washington State banks.

Darrow said as of Aug. 1, the bank is initiating a secondary offering of its common stock with the goal of raising up to $3 million in additional capital. He said this additional capital will be used to help expand. For more information, contact Darrow at (360) 779-4567.