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First State Bancorporation - a well-run
community focused bank in New Mexico poised to take market share from larger banks in
Colorado and Utah markets
Financial
Regional Banks
(NASD: FSNM)
First State Bancorporation
H. Patrick Dee
Chief Operating Officer
and Exec. VP
Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse, Editor
CEOCFOinterviews.com
December 2002
First
State Bancorporation (NASDAQ: FSNM), a holding company formed in 1988, which serves
communities in Northern and Central New Mexico through its wholly owned subsidiary First
State Bank N.M. In October 2002 they expanded into the Denver, Colorado and Utah markets
through their acquisition of First Community Industrial Bank, which was a wholly owned
indirect subsidiary of Washington Mutual, Inc. First State
Bancorporation’s Chief Operating Officer and Exec. VP, Mr. H.
Patrick Dee says, “We
purchased First Community from the Washington Mutual Organization. As an Industrial Bank,
it was not able to offer checking accounts; we have taken those branches and merged them
into our existing bank charter so that we are now able to offer full-service commercial
banking, up and down the front range of Colorado and in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. We
are very excited about the potential in those markets because they are much larger than
our primary market here in the Albuquerque area, and we think there is outstanding
potential for a well-run community focused bank to take a little market share from some of
the larger banks in those markets.”
Commenting on the assimilation of their First
Community Industrial Bank acquisition and its currently profitability, Mr. Dee states, “The beauty of our First Community
acquisition is that it is profitable as it sits right now. This bank historically was a
residential mortgage lender and most of their portfolio is floating rate. The nice thing
about their operation right now is that their overhead is low, therefore it is very
profitable and that gives us the luxury of having plenty of time to fully implement the
full set of commercial banking services in those markets. We recently completed the
conversion of their accounts to our data processing system, so that now they are able to
offer all of the products that we have historically been able to provide.
We are gradually hiring commercial bankers in those
areas to supplement the existing staff. It is important for us not to rush into that and
to make sure that we have the right people. We
have to get them properly trained so that when we roll out these new products, we will be
able to provide the top level of customer service that we expect to provide and that our
customers deserve.” Mr. Dee goes on to say, “We
think it is a very good situation; we want to maintain our base here in New Mexico and
continue to grow it and capitalize on the opportunities here. However, the best potential
for us we believe, lies in those Colorado and Utah markets.”
Providing us with a look at what sets First State Bancorporation apart from the
rest of the pack, Mr. Dee states, “The
real key for us is providing responsive customer service quicker that most of our
competition. We especially see that on the loan side with commercial loan approvals and
our process being much more responsive to our customers’ needs and generally much
quicker than the competition, so that is the one major distinguishing factor. We also try
to be priced competitively in terms of fees and service charges so that we are not nickel
and diming our customers like some of the larger banks, which seemed to have made a
science out of that. Therefore, providing quick and responsive customer service and
keeping our pricing reasonable seems to be the key. “
First State Bank N.M., which has been in
operation since 1922, is a state chartered, community focused bank providing a full range
of commercial banking services to
small and medium size commercial businesses
in Taos, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas, Bernalillo, Placitas, Questa, Belen
and Moriarty, New Mexico.
They offer a full range of financial services to
commercial and individual customers, including checking accounts, short- and medium-term
loans, revolving credit facilities, inventory and accounts receivable financing, equipment
financing, residential and small commercial construction lending, residential mortgage
loans, various savings programs, installment and personal loans, safe deposit services and
credit cards.
First State Bancorporation investment securities
portfolio is made up of U.S. Treasury, U.S. agency, mortgage-backed securities
issued by U.S. agencies, municipal bonds, and other securities, which may be used as a
source of liquidity through either sale of securities available for sale, pledging for
qualified deposits, or as collateral for Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings.
To
find out more about: First
State Bancorporation,
You may order the complete text of our
interview. To
receive a copy of this highly informative interview, left click here: Contact & Ordering
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Interview Highlights:
-
When was First State Bancorporation formed?
- What was its initial acquisition?
- When did they become a public company?
- What has been their financial growth and what were their assets as of September 2002?
- What state have they been serving since their inception?
- What was the acquisition that has taken them into new markets?
- How did they fund their recent acquisition?
- How do the markets that they have ventured into through their acquisition different from
their primary markets and what do they offer First State Bancorporation?
- What is the key to the success of their organization?
- Whom are they focusing on in terms of customers and business, and is that changing?
- Are they flexible in terms of packaging and the overall collateral and cash-flow
situation that is sensible for them from an underwriting standpoint?
- Which of the banking services and products that they offer provide the greatest revenue,
and will that change?
- Are there any new products or services that they are going to be rolling out or are they
pretty well set?
- What is their one-on-one customer service and how do they use of technology as a tool?
- Have they full assimilated their acquisition of First Community Industrial Bank and is
it currently profitable?
- How do the employees at First Community Industrial Bank feel about the acquisition?
- Will most of their growth be coming from the new acquisition or in New Mexico?
- Will they be looking at additional acquisitions and perhaps more branches in the near
future?
- Does being further apart geographically from the acquisitions in the newer area, create
a problem, or in this day in age is that meaningless?
- What kind of affect has their recent acquisition had on the outlook of their company?
- Has the consolidation into bigger banks helped them in finding people?
- What is it that they do as an organization that sets them apart from the rest?
- Are there industry changes that they are concerned about or need to pay attention to?
- How do they keep that personal touch as they grow?
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