The number of banks and thrifts  also known as savings and loans  in the United States has been declining steadily for 25 years, because of consolidation in the industry and deregulation in the 1990s that reduced barriers to interstate banking. There were 6,840 banks and 1,173 thrifts last year, down from 14,507 banks and 3,566 thrifts in 1984.

The number of charters has generally declined too, though there have been periodic swings. The lowest number of bank charters granted in any one year was 15, in 1942.

How, then, did Lakeside Bank win this year’s regulatory lottery?

Mr. Spence’s looks aside, he said that regulators were not ready to grant approval until Lakeside had raised enough capital, created a sufficiently conservative business plan and hired an experienced management team.

The initial idea for Lakeside Bank came from a local real estate developer, Andrew Vanchiere, who was dissatisfied with his existing bank. In 2007, he rounded up a group of local businessmen who set about raising $13 million in start-up capital and began looking for someone to run the bank.

The initial candidates were deemed too inexperienced by regulators. When the group contacted Mr. Spence in 2008, he was a few months into retirement and coming to the realization that fishing for trout and redfish just wasn’t enough to keep him occupied.

“I was bored absolutely stiff,” said Mr. Spence, who had successfully run several Louisiana banks during his career. “My response was, ‘Let’s do it!’

“You can manage a good bank in a bad economy, particularly when you are at the bottom,” he said. Noting that he has a clean balance sheet and can be selective about making loans, he added, “I thought it was a perfect time to be starting.”