Small Business Banking: Making Housecalls
I’m always interested in banks that are changing the model.
ServisFirst opened its doors in May 2005. At the end of 2007 it had assets of $850 million and earned net profits of $5.6 million on revenue of $51.4 million. Very heady performance for this start-up in Birmingham, Alabama.
How did they do it? Laser focus on who they are and how they can compete, disciplined sales process, high level of customer service.
ServisFirst doesn’t try to compete on the traditional location-based banking model. Local powerhouses like Regions, Wachovia and Compass have that locked up. Instead, they go to their customers — busy small business owners who don’t have time to go to the bank.
There are 44 banks operating in the Birmingham market. Combined they have 343 branches. In the two years ServisFirst has been open, they jumped to #10 in deposit market share — their closest competitor requires 8 branches to achieve the same level.
Money.com had an interesting article about them, and you can read it here.