Asheville – Remember when you used to have a trusted banker that you could just call and talk to? Unfortunately, those days are long gone, but ServisFirst Bank wants to bring this high-touch banking practice back to Western North Carolina, and will be opening their headquarters in Asheville.
The bank will be led by long-time bankers and Asheville natives, Bryan Boone and Tammy Baldwin. Boone joins ServisFirst Bank as the Western North Carolina Regional President, and Baldwin will serve as the Business Services Officer.
Experienced Local Bankers
Boone, a banking veteran with 22 years of experience, served as Senior Commercial Relationship Manager for TD Bank in Asheville, as well as Commercial Credit Manager and Commercial Relationship Manager. Before that, his career was at RBC Bank. Boone graduated from Mars Hill University.
Tammy Baldwin has almost 30 years of professional banking experience. Baldwin brings exceptional sales and service skills to this role. Baldwin will be responsible for lending and gathering deposits to small business customers, developing client relationships and assisting in administrative duties as needed.
“We are proud to continue expanding the ServisFirst Bank footprint across the state of North Carolina,” states Rick Manley, ServisFirst Bank Piedmont Regional President and CEO. “Bryan and Tammy are two long-time Asheville bankers that will bring great value to this market and our clients as we grow our services and reach throughout Western North Carolina.”
Who is ServisFirst Bank?
ServisFirst Bank is a full-service commercial bank focused on commercial banking, correspondent banking, cash management, private banking, and the professional consumer market, emphasizing competitive products, state-of-the-art technology, and a focus on quality service. Recently, the bank announced its assets exceeded $15 billion. The bank offers sophisticated cash management products, Internet banking, home mortgage lending, remote deposit express banking, international banking, and highly competitive rates.
The Difference Between ServisFirst and Other Banks
Rick Manley explained, “The ServisFirst business model is very simplistic. Decisions are made locally versus on the 23rd floor in a major city setting far from home based in Asheville, NC. We’re about attracting new customers with a high-touch approach. It’s a decentralized structure, so Bryan, as the leader in Western North Carolina, will have the ability to make decisions within the local market. The customers we attract will have a local banker. They won’t be assigned to a call center, they won’t be assigned to a banker sitting in Charlotte, they will be assigned to a local banker. Ultimately, the decisions that affect each business will be made out of Bryan’s chair in Asheville, North Carolina.”
“We want to be partners and advisors to the commercial and business community,” said Boone.
“I want to be the person that you say, ‘I need to call Bryan and see what he thinks.’ I want that high-touch approach from all of my bankers, going back into the community, and not just Asheville but Western North Carolina. If you’re in Hickory, if you’re in Murphy, wherever, I want that kind of high touch to where we’re the first phone call they make, just like their doctor, just like their CPA, just like their attorney. When I partner with a company, I feel like I’m the ‘rent-a-CFO’. I work with them, I help them build budgets if they need it, I help them do whatever. So now having the ability to make decisions in-house for people that I’ve gotten to know over 20+ years, it feels good.
Finally, Small Business Support
For years, there has been a gap that many small businesses have fallen through when it comes to lending. Large banks don’t make small loans; it’s not economically sound. This makes it very difficult for small business owners to keep their businesses going and their employees working without having to borrow far more than they need. ServisFirst welcomes those small businesses. “Small business customers are being pushed out of their commercial banks,” said Manley. “If there are local bankers, and there’s becoming less and less, those customers are being pushed out of those books of business into call centers in a centralized effort of the larger bank to minimize the cost of delivery. I personally think they are being neglected.
Small dollar loans turn into big dollar loans, and small dollar loans have friends who have needs for big dollar loans, and then there’s the community aspect of helping the community and helping the customer.” Manley went on to say, “Initially, our target market is commercial businesses of zero to $250 million in revenue, privately owned and operated.”
According to Manley, “Tammy Baldwin will be the micro-business go-to person; she’s accustomed to doing small business lending under $1 million dollars, and she’s used to problem solving.” Boone said of Baldwin, “Tammy is a very experienced person in the service side of the industry and also in the small business micro section. She’s been a commercial sales assistant and knows it from soup to nuts. She is a valuable addition that can wear many hats, from office manager, to business manager, to account opener, to closing a line of credit for small businesses. She’s invaluable at this point. She is very client-oriented and very high-touch with the people she works with.”
ServisFirst Bank Isn’t Your Typical Bank
Most people are doing their banking electronically today; it’s all online. Very few people actually go into a bank anymore, so ServisFirst is looking for office space in downtown Asheville. Even working out of an office space, they offer the full gamut of suites that can bank individuals, can bank corporations, and never have them walk into the bank unless they just want to say hello.
Boone explained, “I’m going to call this a kind of a private commercial bank. I want to obviously do the commercial lending, but also be there for the executives of those companies to do home mortgages, equity lines of credit, whatever. As we grow, that’s where I see it opening into the new market of people just needing a new bank. It’s not going to be your typical six tellers sitting across a window cashing checks. That’s not what we’re looking for. We’re looking for more of a specialty retail and commercial bank for individuals that want a high-touch approach. We’ll grow into that.”
How do you have a high-touch approach while conducting business online? The bank will be open for people to come in as needed, with money for petty cash and checking accounts for individuals, and they will assign those individuals a banker. When the customer has a need to fulfill with the bank, he or she will contact that banker. Boone also stated that he is always on call for his personal customers. Even without a physical location at this time, the bank is open and ready for business, online for now, and you can reach Bryan Boone at his e-mail address for information on banking services. That address is bboone@servisfirstbank.com. Imagine a bank president making his e-mail available. That really is high-touch, personal service.