Touchmark's OCC Exit Clears Way to Finance Optical Cable, Telecom Small Businesses

Touchmark’s regulatory exit positions it to back optical cable and telecom small businesses

Touchmark Bancshares is using its recent termination of a Formal Agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to target entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized companies that drive local telecom and optical cable deployment. The OCC action, initiated in April 2024, ends effective Feb. 17, 2026, and management frames the outcome as clearing the way for “full relationship banking” to businesses with annual revenue up to $50 million — a profile that covers many fiber contractors, splice teams, last‑mile installers and component suppliers in its markets.

The bank says governance, risk management and operational improvements developed during the OCC engagement strengthen its ability to underwrite projects common in the optical cable sector, including infrastructure buildouts and equipment financing. Touchmark’s leadership emphasizes disciplined credit standards and a capital base that it reports as $71 million of shareholders’ equity supporting $418 million of assets as of Dec. 31, 2025, positioning the bank to provide measured commercial lending for revenue‑generating telecom ventures without departing from community banking values.

Management also stresses a strategic focus on deepening client relationships and expanding services for startups and established firms in the telecom supply chain. Touchmark intends to accelerate commercial lending to firms engaged in fiber backbone and last‑mile projects, equipment distribution and installation services, while maintaining community-oriented service and risk controls developed under the OCC process.

Local footprint and customer focus

Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and founded in 2008, Touchmark National Bank serves Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Forsyth, Gwinnett and North Fulton counties. The bank’s renewed lending push is likely to affect small regional optical cable contractors and broadband service providers operating in those counties that seek capital for project finance, equipment purchases or working capital.

Disclosure and contact details

The announcement originates from Touchmark Bancshares via PR Newswire and points interested parties to the company’s Investor Relations pages at www.touchmarknb.com for further information. CEO Bobby Krimmel thanks the OCC on behalf of the board and signals the bank will use the enhanced governance framework to pursue growth tied to community economic needs, including the telecom and optical cable sectors.