A former Wells Fargo regional president in Florida, Larisa Perry now is the bank”™s lead Northeast region president for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
Perry oversees 4,700 employees, 461 retail banking locations ”” “Our research tells us the majority of our customers still visit,” she said ”” and 747 ATMs, which are increasingly sophisticated and multilingual.
Despite brick-and-mortar popularity, Perry said the value of regional real estate is an undeniable factor in running the bank. “It”™s a challenge in the Northeast because it”™s more expensive than other parts of the nation,” she said. “We”™ve already made changes, particularly in New York, with smaller stores with smaller footprints and innovations like tablet technology.”
- Larisa Perry
In the bank”™s downtown Trenton, N.J., location, those changes resulted in an across-the-street move that eliminated 7,000 square feet of superfluous space.
Perry said she is “committed to being in places that are convenient” and that includes addressing customer bases like the millennials through technology, “constantly adjusting our model to adapt to all the ways people want to bank with us, whether it”™s mobile or in the stores.”
Perry arrived just as Wells Fargo”™s national annual small-business survey cited the highest level of small-business confidence in seven years.
“There are uncertainties, like the effect of healthcare reform on small businesses,” she said by phone from her Summit, N.J., office. “But we”™re all fighting for the same thing and that is job growth.”
The small-business survey, conducted Jan. 5-9, cited its “overall index score,” gauging small-business owner optimism, was 71, up from 58 in November and up from 45 in January 2014. While the score is still below pre-recession levels, the bank reported, “it is the highest it has been since January 2008, when the index score was 83.”
Perry”™s said her job was “to continue to ensure all of our customers”™ financial needs are met.” She painted a client base ranging from businesses to newlywed couples.
For six months of the year, a large portion of Wells Fargo”™s northern customers become the bank”™s Florida customers, and Perry, a 25-year banker, said, “I”™ve made a few friends.” She has been active with Junior Achievement and has submitted her name for consideration on the New Jersey JA board of directors. As the mother of a 15-year-old, she is passionate about education. Her Bachelor of Science degree in management is from the University of South Alabama. She is also a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Retail Bank Management.
The Business Journal also emailed several questions to Perry:
What is the status of loans to small businesses at Wells Fargo? Up, down? Is there a single reason above all others that an applicant is denied a small-business loan?
“Working with small-business owners is one of the most important things we do at Wells Fargo. America needs small businesses to succeed financially, grow and add jobs for our communities to prosper. In 2014, we extended $18 billion in new loan commitments to small businesses throughout the U.S. (primarily with annual revenues less than $20 million). Our business banking group (revenues from $2 million to $20 million) is experiencing a slight increase in small-business lending in New York and Connecticut.
“That is a positive sign. We don”™t give out specific numbers but it is up. We are making credit available to every credit-worthy small business that we can to grow new lending. New lending growth is dependent on a number of factors, including demand from businesses and economic conditions.
“I would say the number one challenge is the economy. There”™s still uncertainty out there. Our latest Wells Fargo Small Business Index says small-business optimism is the highest since the beginning of 2008, yet business owners are still unsure about health care costs, the regulatory environment, where the economy is heading, the world situation, etc. All this uncertainty leads many business owners to stay on the sidelines. This impacts the overall economy. As a result, there”™s less job creation and expansion ”“ and less loan demand. There”™s also much competition out there for the same loans, so we have to differentiate ourselves from the competition and state clearly why they should do business with us.”
Are there general regulatory differences between the southeast ”” you”™ve worked in Georgia and Florida ”” and tristate regions that benefit one or the other?
“Certainly there are more regulations than ever before, many of which are good for the industry and hopefully will prevent another financial crisis. At Wells Fargo, we are not opposed to regulations. However, if there are ever ones that we believe will have negative consequences, we will point them out to those proposing them.”
Calling on personal experiences (and besides regulations), what do you believe has to date most driven the exodus of people and jobs from north to south? The weather this winter seems a likely candidate.
“I have not been here long enough to really comment on that. The high cost of living has to be one reason. It is no secret that it is cheaper to live in some other parts of the country. While I”™ve never lived here, one of the reasons I pursued this job is because I already know what wonderful people live here through experiencing them first-hand. For six to seven months, tens of thousands of residents from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut live in Florida, especially in the region where I came from. They also visit Florida year-round on vacations or for business. I was based in Orlando and Northeasterners are always in our central Florida stores. And, I just love everything about the people from this region; their style really complements my fast-paced style so I know I will fit in easily. I”™ve already been here a couple weeks and I know it is a perfect match.”
We”™ve been reporting on a surge in manufacturing ”” both making things and training future manufacturers. Is it a viable economic pillar for the region? Any efforts to spur loans in manufacturing?
“I can tell you the bank is always looking to make loans to qualified companies that are looking to expand and create jobs. Business owners are feeling more upbeat today than any other time in seven years. Our Wells Fargo Small Business Index score increased to positive 71 in January, up from positive 58 in November and at its highest level since the beginning of 2008, when it was positive 83.”
How big a challenge does the Northeast”™s infrastructure ”” including the traffic-choked Interstate 95 ”” impact economic development? Does the situation add a negative asterisk to a regional loan application?
“This is a major issue all over the country. The U.S. has an aging infrastructure and there has to be a stable, dedicated funding mechanism to upgrade our highways, bridges and railways. If we can”™t move people and goods around, our economy will suffer.”
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