Trio responds to community's desire for personal touch with new bank

Northwestern Financial Review, Aug 5, 2000 by Schroeder, Margaret

Trying to get away from "commodity banking," three ex-Amcore Bank executives on a mission to start a new bank listened carefully to a number of potential customers in Woodstock, located in the fastestgrowing county in Illinois.

The public "was telling us they were unhappy with big banks and with being treated like a number," said Charie Zanck, CEO of the de novo American Community Bank & Trust. That's when Zanck's group knew it was the right thing to do, and opened a bank in mid-March. More than five months later, the success shows as American Community B&T has grown to $52 million in assets.

"We are very pleased with our progress," said Zanck, who previously worked as a group vice president for Rockford-based Amcore Financial Inc.

Zanck organized the new bank in northern Illinois with two other former Amcore executives, Andy Hartlieb and Rick Francois, who had worked together at Amcore Bank, N.A., Northwest in Woodstock. Hartlieb serves as the new bank's president, while Francois is the executive vice president.

Making the move from Amcore to the new bank was easy, said Zanck, considering that most of her 26 years in the industry has been working with community banks. Her team believes the same things.

"This group shares the common belief that many banking clients still prefer personal relationships and service, and that computer scoring, 800numbers and call centers and remote decision-making are not for everyone," said Zanck. "People like to do business with people they know and they also prefer to deal directly with decision-makers."

According to Zanck, the bank's organizers raised $19 million in start-up capital in 30 days, setting a record for the state of Illinois for raising the largest amount of cash in the shortest amount of time. Those numbers reveal that the community was clamoring for a locally-owned bank in a town that has an institution owned by Chicago-based Harris Bank, and branches of Bank One and LaSalle Bank.

Besides the ex-Amcore trio, 10 other local investors helped organize the bank. Most of them are business owners.

Hartlieb, former president of Amcore's bank in Woodstock, said the board of local business owners makes a big difference in the bank's focus. The local ownership has provided the key to the bank's future, because it is "a board that's actively engaged."

Starting out in one of Amcore's fastest-growing markets is not a concern, Hartlieb said. For one thing, it's a good market. But he added, "Just about every employee we have has extensive experience in the area." And that will distinguish American Community B&T.from its competition.

"The question is: 'Are we a serious business, and are we going to take care of our clients better than the next guy?"' Hartlieb said the answer to both questions is 'yes.'

The full-service bank has 18 employees, who work in a newly renovated building in Woodstock, a community in McHenry County, about 55 miles northwest of Chicago. Zanck noted that the bank plans to relocate once a permanent site is found. Its leaders also are on the lookout for possible branch sites.

"In order to properly serve this market," Zanck said, "it will be necessary for us to have additional branches."

While planning for the addition of branches throughout the county, the bank's top executives are hesitant to talk about financial goals. Hartlieb said there are no specific asset goals in the coming years, although they have exceeded initial projections.

"Our goal is really quality-related. That's the driving force along the whole continuum here as we continue to grow," said Hartlieb, suggesting that focusing on the customer will bring financial results. "All the numbers end up coming to you, eventually."

A desire to provide that quality was the main reason for the new venture, Hartlieb said. He added that a bank's two most important ingredients are having the resources to get things done, and having the ability to make decisions at the point of sale every day - things that were not possible at Amcore. "We couldn't accomplish that in that environment," Hartlieb said.

Zanck suggested that customers sometimes realize the hard way that they're better served by a community bank.

"We are pursuing that portion of the personal and commercial market that values relationships, wants personal service and is not interested in commodity banking and price-only transactions," said Zanck. "Generally, it isn't until the client has a need or a problem that they realize how difficult it is to get the help they need."

Hartlieb said efforts to provide quality customer service have been the recipe for success during the bank's first 100 days.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of new technology to improve the bank's offerings is another goal. Zanck said American Community B&T offers all standard banking products and services including telephone banking. Internet banking is in development.

"The one thing we have learned through the process of starting a de novo bank is that the technology available in the industry has leveled the playing field. There are some extremely competitive products available on the shelf to fit any size institution. They may lack some specific features, but they can often be branded and delivered rapidly without the research and product development expense," Zanck said.