My ten year anniversary at River City Bank just passed last month. I will readily admit that most of you probably don’t care too much about my work history – and rightly so, as there are far more important things to think about in all of your lives. Still, I don’t want to let the milestone go by without making a few comments.
You will all recall that September 2008 was a unique time in our financial history as the financial crisis and Great Recession were hitting in full force. Serious questions were being raised about the health of our financial system and even the capitalist model. Since mid-2008, the number of commercial banks in the US has shrunk a whopping 46% from 7,100 to 4,850 today. While I expect this consolidation trend to continue in the industry, with the largest banks getting more and more market share, it is worth noting that RCB’s assets grew 150% over this period!
What explains RCB’s growth over this period? Very simple: having a great team of employees and excellent customers. The quality of all banks is defined by their customers. The best customers tend to be very successful people and businesses, as these customers are constantly growing their deposits at the bank and always paying back their loans on a timely basis. As such, I want to say “thank you” to our customers as you are what makes RCB so successful.
Of course, we all know that people have lots of choices when it comes to selecting a bank. Even with the industry consolidation noted above, there are still tons of banks to choose from. There is no “secret sauce” which differentiates one bank from another. At the end of the day, the key differentiator is the customer experience and that is dictated by the quality of the bank’s staff. Suffice to say, I am privileged to work on a daily basis with a highly talented, hard-working, and experienced group of bankers.
Thanks to the great customers and my colleagues at the bank. I respect all that you do and look forward to another great 10 years of serving and working with you.
See you soon.
