'Customer-owned bank' says rivals ignore small business

ServisFirst Bank, a fast-growing startup based in Birmingham, will open for business in Huntsville by mid-August, its first move outside the Birmingham market.

The timing is right to open ServisFirst offices here because of the area's strong economy and population growth, including the expected growth from moves related to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision, said Andy Kattos, president of ServisFirst in Huntsville.

The move also makes sense now because "you have the biggest banks getting even bigger through consolidation," he said. "The market that often gets left out is the small and medium-sized business owner."

Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Corp. completed its acquisition of Birmingham-based SouthTrust Bank late last year. And Wachovia's proposed merger with Golden West Financial Corp., parent of World Savings Bank, is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Meantime, Regions Financial Corp. and AmSouth Bancorporation, both based in Birmingham, have announced merger plans.

ServisFirst will have its share of real estate lending but keep a heavy focus on commercial and industrial lending, including government contractors and professional groups, Kattos said. The commercial and industrial market "demands access to decision-making bankers who have knowledge of and a background in finance and accounting," he said.

Kattos said that what helps set the bank apart - and what has been credited for its early success - is its client/owner model.

"ServisFirst is a customer-owned bank," Kattos said. That means investors have an ownership in the bank, he explained, and are committed to doing business with the bank and bringing business to the bank through referrals.

"It's the right formula," said Kattos, formerly executive vice president and senior lender at First Commercial Bank in Huntsville. "That's truly what has driven the growth."

ServisFirst was launched in May 2005 with $35 million in startup capital. Since then, the bank - founded by president and CEO Thomas A. Broughton III, also co-founder of First Commercial Bank in Birmingham in 1985 - has built nearly $400 million in assets and about $350 million in deposits.

It will open its third location in the Birmingham area in August.

Hill Womble, senior vice president and commercial banker at ServisFirst in Huntsville, describes ServisFirst as an "urban" bank with the "high level of personal service" and local decision-making ability of a community bank, with the sophisticated products and technology of larger holding-company banks. One example is remote deposit express service that will allow businesses to make deposits without having to leave the office. The bank will also offer a cash-management system and real-time Internet access for businesses and individuals.

Womble is former city president of First Commercial Bank in Madison.

ServisFirst will open initially with 12 employees in the Village of Providence off U.S. 72. The local headquarters office will open at 401 Meridian St. downtown around mid-October. The plan is to have a permanent location in the west Huntsville area in six to nine months, Kattos said, and additional offices in the area are planned within three years, including Madison and south Huntsville.

Don't look for ServisFirst to be a mass-market retail bank, Kattos said. "We won't have banks on every corner, but banks in the right locations."

The bank's local management team brings together some veteran bankers, some of them former competitors.

David Mathis, formerly senior lender for First American Bank in Huntsville, will join ServisFirst in Hunts-ville next year as senior lender and senior vice president after the expiration of an employment contract. Until that time, he will be senior vice president of ServisFirst offices in Birmingham. Chris Hanback, formerly of First American Bank in Huntsville, joins ServisFirst as vice president of commercial lending.

Mark McIntyre is vice president commercial lending, and Thomas Busby is vice president cash-management services. Both were with First Commercial. Amy Garrison is private banker.

Members of the bank's local board are Wayne Bonner of Bonner-Warren Development; David Slyman of Slyman Development; Sidney White, a certified public accountant and partner with White, Fleming & Co. PC; and Danny Windham, president of Adtran. Additional board members are expected to be named in the fall.