Independent Banker - November 2023 - 60

gig workers using those platforms
expect the same level of ease from
their banking relationships. In
response, he says the bank has
invested in technology, switched
up some of its processes and
looked carefully at how it services
those clients.
In some cases, a few simple
tweaks can make a noticeable
difference in the way a community
bank serves this " non-traditional "
business customer group. The key is
understanding what that customer's
needs are first, versus putting the
technology or platforms in place
and hoping that they use it. This
client-first approach has worked well
for Veritex.
" This hasn't required a huge
investment in new technology,
payment solutions or online banking
systems, " says Abernethy. " It's simply
rethinking how we use those systems
to better serve those clients and meet
them where they are. "
The pandemic's impact on
gig working
Founded in 1999, Sunstate Bank
is based in Coral Gables, Fla., and
serves the Miami-Dade area. With
about $500 million in assets and 60
employees, the community bank has
been serving a lot more gig workers
and independent contractors as a
result of the pandemic. For example,
when the Small Business Association
(SBA) rolled out the PPP, many
independent contractors working on
a 1099 basis flocked to the bank for
help securing their fair share of the
funding opportunity.
" If you can imagine someone
walking into a large bank branch
and saying, 'I want a PPP loan,'
that just didn't work, because PPP
was handled as a special facility, "
Lloyd DeVaux, president and CEO,
explains. " A lot of the big banks
handled the PPP approval process
centrally, which meant that a
customer could walk into a branch
and ask about the status of a loan,
and no one knew the answer. "
At Sunstate Bank, on the other
hand, customers could ask the
same question at any branch and
get an answer to their loan status
update queries.
" If we want to be true to who we
are as banks and take care of the
communities that we serve, we need
to be able to serve those gig workers
and independent contractors well. "
-Wyatt Abernethy,
Veritex Community Bank
This helped the bank not only
attract new customers applying for
PPP loans but also a host of new,
long-term banking customers.
DeVaux himself was hands-on with
the process, entering every PPP loan
application into
the SBA's system,
reviewing those
applications and
ensuring that all of
the i's were dotted
and t's crossed.
Loan officers,
underwriters and
branch managers
also reviewed every
application to ensure
that " everything
was inline. "
" It was a joint
effort from top
to bottom, " says
DeVaux. " Everybody
could talk PPP. "
As a community bank that also
employs independent contractors to
handle functions like credit analysis,
Sunstate Bank understands the
challenges that these individuals
may face in the banking and lending
sector. For example, centralized
decision-making helps community
banks provide quick decisions on
loans and other products that a
micro-business can't afford to wait
weeks or months for.
DeVaux says most independent
contractors and self-employed
individuals come to Sunstate for
basic checking and savings accounts.
Their additional needs include things
such as:
* Business accounts for processing
their payments quickly and
seamlessly
* Mobile banking
* The ability to use payment
services like Zelle
* Working lines of credit
DeVaux recalls one local
optometrist who was expanding his
small office. The optometrist was a
longtime customer of the bank, which
financed an expansion that doubled
the size of his practice.
" He needed funding for equipment,
construction costs and other
requirements, " DeVaux says. " We
knew this optometrist very well
and could speak very quickly to
his character. It didn't have to go
anywhere beyond us. We got him a
loan very quickly, and now he has
opened his [second] location. "
Gig working continues to grow
The national gig economy is currently
creating an economic impact that
exceeds $1 trillion, and Mastercard
says the number of gig workers
could reach 78 million by the end of
this year. Giorgio says the term " gig
worker " has evolved to include highly
skilled workers (like those in the IT
sector) that earn high wages and
60 // ICBA Independent Banker // November 2023
Independent Banker - November 2023

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