Provident Bank”™s CEO George Strayton didn”™t always have a Hudson Valley view from his banker”™s chair. He started on Manhattan”™s busy and boisterous Delancey Street, learning his industry and developing his own banking philosophy while sifting through stacks of post-World War II loans.
“Loans were done on a handshake in those days, and bankers knew their customers and their families,” says Strayton, whose bank will open a Tarrytown branch this month.
Strayton started out with Bankers Trust, where he remained for 18 years until joining Provident in 1982. Four years later, he became its CEO; and while the business climate has changed and banking relies on more than a handshake these days, he likes to think his organization is conveying that same feeling to its 21st-century customer base.
It”™s not an easy task, considering the mergers and acquisitions that have seen several banks change names and the growing competition. Within the past year, the public has seen Bank of New York”™s retail branches become Chase, while KeyBank recently announced the acquisition of Union State Bank. Clearly, the banking climate is changing, so to compete in the competitive market, ingenuity and a little bit of banker”™s savvy are parts of Strayton”™s strategy to retain Provident”™s market share.
Still, the lifelong banker can”™t blame the competition for wanting to grow their banking business in the Hudson Valley. Provident itself expanded its Rockland customer base with the acquisition of the National Bank of Florida, Ellenville National Bank and Warwick Community Bancorp, all within a two-year period, making a significant inroad into Orange County. Strayton sees the entire lower Hudson Valley as economically vibrant, especially compared with areas in the western part of the state.
“We have a diverse cross section of for-profits and nonprofits. The same can”™t be said for upstate areas like Syracuse, where I am sure we are looked upon with envy. It”™s not just about location, although that helps. The mid-Hudson is successful because we have so many small- and midsized enterprises that make up the business community. Unlike other parts of the state, we”™re not beholden to any one industry.”
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Strayton encouraged those caught up in the subprime morass to contact their local banker and check out conforming loan products. “There”™s a good chance they will qualify. They should try to re-finance out of their subprime. We (Provident) lost business, and I suspect that many of our community banks face the same issue. We all have membership in Federal Home Loan Bank.”
How will Strayton”™s community-based banking network retain and attract new customers in the face of stiffer competition?
“We”™re a relationship-building bank, and we go out of our way to stay involved with our business customers and meet with them on a regular basis,” he says. “We see ourselves as an alternative for Key customers. They are a very able and qualified bank with a good name, but if people are looking to make a change, I think we provide a good alternative.”
Its new competition has not deterred Provident from improving service, renovating or rebuilding. A new 3,400-square-foot branch on Bryle Place in Chester broke ground Nov. 16. Provident will replace its current 2,002-square-foot branch on Brookside Avenue with the new one and expects its new Bryle Place location to be open for business by spring 2008.
While Provident will remain opportunistic in acquiring branches north of the Tappan Zee, it is also looking south to Westchester, where it is expected to open an office on Route 119 in Tarrytown at the end of this month.
Publicly traded Provident, with $2.8 billion in assets, has 33 branches, currently operating in Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster counties, with one office in Bergen County, N.J., and its newest in Westchester. It will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year.
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