Independent Banker - January 2023 - 52

We opened our doors three months ago. " The bank also put
together an advisory board comprising seven prominent
business professionals, including attorneys, CPAs and
entrepreneurs from the southwest Florida market.
" We tried to create a local diversifi ed advisory board
that's been instrumental in helping us so far, " Griest says.
" I rely on them quite a bit for feedback on what's going on
in the market. " When hiring for the new offi ce, Meridian
Bank sought out local candidates who knew the area and
the related risks. Griest praises the Meridian leadership
team at the home offi ce for taking the time to listen to and
have an open dialogue with the Florida team.
" Each day, they're becoming more and more familiar
with the market here in Bonita Springs, " he adds,
" and more comfortable with the risks that exist in our
marketplace. " The Florida team operates from a loan
production offi ce (with no offi cial branch site yet) and
is currently working to establish new business banking
relationships, including those that entail lending. The
bank is also making connections with local businesses and
residents who are looking for a good community bank and/
or have ties to the Philadelphia area.
" In several cases, we've started working with customers
who already had relationships with Meridian in
Philadelphia and who are in the process of moving here,
establishing a business here or buying a commercial
property and in need of fi nancing for it, " says Griest,
whose medium-term goal is to establish several full-time
Meridian Bank branches in Florida.
" That's probably a year or so away, " he adds. " For
now, we're focused on getting the Bonita Springs loan
production offi ce up, running and profi table, and on
establishing new business and banking relationships in
the marketplace. "
STEARNS BANK N.A.: Tech levels the playing field
In most industry sectors right now, organizations are
thinking globally, working with more diverse customer
bases and serving wider geographies. Community banks
are no diff erent, enabled by technology. Take Stearns
Bank N.A., for example. The $2.3 billion-asset bank is
headquartered in St. Cloud, Minn., but it serves more than
35,000 small businesses nationwide.
Many of those customers come to Stearns for equipment
fi nancing, small business and construction lending, but the
community bank also has three locations in Florida and
one in Arizona. Those locations were added when Stearns
acquired failed bank assets from another institution. Since
then, it has continued to build customer connections
within those geographically distant communities.
" We started our nationwide lending division using
phones and a fax machine, " says Kelly Skalicky, president
" we have BUSINESS
CUSTOMERS that
have operations in both
minnesota
and florida,
and THEY
DON'T
NEED TO
COME IN
AT ALL;
IT'S ALL DIGITAL. "
-Kelly Skalicky, Stearns Bank N.A.
and CEO of the family- and employee-owned institution.
When the opportunity to acquire existing branches in
Arizona emerged, Skalicky took an instant interest. " As a
family, we visited Arizona quite a bit, so it was a natural fi t
for us, " she explains. " We were familiar with the area, so
we picked up that charter in 1997. "
Stearns would later add its Florida branches during
the Great Recession, opening the doors for it to serve
snowbirds and retirees from the Northeast. As the bank
expanded its physical presence, it paid close attention to
the risk associated with each of those markets. " We put
a risk management and compliance framework in place,
along with a staff that's familiar with the risks of lending
outside of our region, " Skalicky says. " There's a framework
and level of expertise to it. "
She says advancements in technology have made it easier
for Stearns to do business with its far-off customers-many
of whom transact digitally, even if they're close to a branch.
" We have business customers that have operations in both
Minnesota and Florida, and they don't need to come in
at all; it's all digital, " says Skalicky. " As community banks
become increasingly digital, it's making it easier both
for customers and for bank employees who may want to
work remotely. "
Looking ahead, Skalicky says Stearns' mergers and
acquisitions (M&A) group always has its eye out for new
opportunities. " We'll continue to invest in people and in
52 // ICBA Independent Banker // January 2023
Independent Banker - January 2023

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