The bank's connections to the leadership of the Republican Party led to it becoming a favored financial institution for conservative political action committees during the 1980s.
The bank's clientele included the National Conservative Political Action Committee and the political action committees of Senator Bob Dole of Kansas and Representative Jack Kemp of New York.
[2] The bank was founded on June 1, 1983 by Harvey McLean, Jr., a real estate developer from Dallas, Texas who served as the Southern finance chairman in the 1980 Presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush, and Stefan Halper, former Deputy United States Assistant Secretary of State.
[1][3] It was initially funded with $2.8 million from Herman K. Beebe, a businessman from Shreveport, Louisiana.
In 1996, the bank was acquired by George Mason Bankshares Inc. for $15.6 million in stock.