A number of suburban community banks, including DNB First, have been prompted by changes in the real estate market to expand their operations and compete for business in the city of Philadelphia, writes Jeff Blumenthal for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Until now, DNB has let other institutions battle it out for business opportunities in Philadelphia, while keeping its focus primarily on the suburbs. However, the bank recently acquired the East Falls-based East River Bank.

This high-performing startup has retail locations in rapidly-growing urban neighborhoods, as well as an attractive commercial loan portfolio fueled by Philadelphia’s real estate boom.

The acquisition was prompted by a surge in commercial and residential real estate activity. William Hieb, DNB’s CEO, noted that the bank is very lucky to enter the Philadelphia market with the team from East River as they are already familiar with the city’s various neighborhoods.

“Competition in Philadelphia is hot,” he said. “We have seen some larger institutions with no Philadelphia retail presence with excess capital that they cannot deploy in their own markets, so they find a growing market like Philadelphia where they can deploy it.”

Read more in the Philadelphia Business Journal here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of DNB First here.