Leaders in Lending | Ep. 100
“Bank Your Size” - The Community Bank Difference
In this episode, we speak with Ryan Coaxum, VP at Guaranty Bank and Trust and one of eleven inaugural American Bankers Association Emerging Leader Award recipients this year, about the positive impact that banking your size can have on your business.
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GUEST SPEAKER
Ryan Coaxum
Ryan Coaxum, an Austin native, is known for his striking energy and enthusiasm for life that drives him
to give back to his community in various capacities. With over a decade of banking experience, he is part
of the original team that brought Guaranty Bank & Trust to Central Texas. As the company’s first
Community Development Officer, Ryan fosters relationships with community leaders, nonprofit
organizations and diverse populations. He focuses on corporate responsibility, social impact, strategic
philanthropy, community investments and managing community partnerships. He continues to work
with a broad range of clients across various industries focusing on their loan and deposit needs.
Ryan is an insightful strategist and authentic communicator whose work complements his personal
purpose, which is to be of service to others. He currently serves on the nonprofit boards of Ballet Austin,
I Live Here I Give Here, The Trail Conservancy and The Adderley School for the Performing Arts. He also
is an active member of the Texas Bankers Association and American Bankers Association, which allows
him to serve his industry at the state and national levels. As a strong advocate for economic inclusion, his work has been recognized by the Austin Black Business
Journal, Independent Banker Magazine, Texas Bankers Association and American Bankers Association,
among others. He is a proud graduate of Huston-Tillotson University, a historically black college and
university in Austin, receiving his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in business administration. In
addition, he is a graduate of the Essential Program at Leadership Austin.
ABOUT
First Guaranty Bank & Trust
On January 13, 1913, the Texas Department of Banking issued a bank charter to The Guaranty State Bank in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. In the century since, that one community bank has expanded to 32 locations spanning 26 Texas communities. Now, Guaranty Bank & Trust is widely regarded as one of the most reliable and respected banks in the entire Lone Star State. Texas Monthly has named us one of the “Best 100 Companies to Work for in Texas” for 13 years running. We’ve also received a Cornerstone Award from the Texas Bankers Association, a Texas Treasure Business Award from the Texas Historical Commission, a 5-Star rating from BauerFinancial, and a “Best Banks to Work For” citation from American Banker. Since 2017, our shares have been traded on NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “GNTY.”
Key Topics Covered
- The challenges and advantages to opening Guaranty Bank & Trust's first Texas branch
- Having a personalized approach to small-business banking
- Prioritizing financial literacy and affordable housing
“I think we have a huge responsibility to our community to give back in so many ways.”
“Banking is intimate because people come to you in good times, they come to you in bad times, they come to you in times of struggle.”
“My job is to make sure that your neighbor, your community member has the tools that they can to fly.”
EPISODE RECAP & SUMMARY
Small businesses are the backbone of America. But, too often, they partner with banks that don’t offer the personal touch, care or attention their business deserves.
In this episode, we speak with Ryan Coaxum, VP at Guaranty Bank & Trust and one of eleven inaugural American Bankers Association Emerging Leader Award recipients this year, about the positive impact that banking your size can have on your business.
Join us as Jeff and Ryan discuss:
- The challenges and advantages to opening First Guaranty Bank
- Having a personalized approach to small-business banking
- Prioritizing financial literacy and affordable housing
Opening Guaranty Bank & Trust’s first Texas branch
In 2017, Coaxum took a leap of faith with his boss and opened a Guaranty Bank & Trust in Central Texas.
“It felt like we were in a startup, yet we still had a $40 billion bank behind us," Coaxum said. “They had no locations in the central Texas area.”
They were entering new territory and breaking new ground, with little idea of what waited for them. Coaxum went from working in one room on a card table from Home Depot to a 30-plus team with $460 million in loans.
Startup-esque challenges
As Guaranty Bank & Trust grew, Coaxum and his boss navigated challenges such as obscurity in name and location and the lack of a physical location.
“People wanted to see that physical building,” Coaxum said. “Once we got into that physical building, it legitimized us.”
Advantages of Guaranty Bank & Trust
The Central Texas branch of Guaranty Bank & Trust grew into a double-focused establishment with a flare for commercial real estate lending alongside a dedication to small business ventures, which is where Coaxum prefers to operate.
“It's the best of both worlds. You have your big commercial real estate loans that pay the bills, and small businesses coming inside the bank, using the drive-thru — people in the community.” Coaxum explained.
Coaxum champions networking among small businesses to make valuable connections and develop lifelines across the community in tangible ways.
A personalized approach to small-business banking
Banking has an intimacy to it that Coaxum values above all.
People come to banks in the best of times and the worst of times, hand their entire financial history over to a relative stranger and open themselves up for guidance and support. If that’s not community, what is?
What it means to “bank your size”
Most larger banks are not built to support smaller businesses, often viewing such companies as one speck among the millions of other deals and customers.
When someone banks their size, they set themselves up to receive the support they need at each stage of their business journey.
“As a small institution, they'll give you all the time you want. You can go in there, and they'll roll out the red carpet for you and say, ‘Let's not only do this, but I'm going to tell my friend about this, or we bank this other business and I want you to meet each other,’” Coaxum said. “That’s community banking — taking care of the size.”
Prioritizing financial literacy and affordable housing
One of the most critical community investments comes in the form of promoting financial literacy. When the youth in a community receive education about finances and what that looks like day-to-day, they can make informed decisions.
In line with that simple fact, the Guaranty Bank & Trust are partnering with the American Bankers Association to bring financial literacy courses to schools across Texas.
The other side of that coin is affordable housing.
“I don't feel that anybody will care about financial literacy if they have nowhere to stay,” Coaxum said.
When someone is concerned about where they’re going to live, everything else falls lower on the scale. Freeing up the emotional space needed to learn means prioritizing affordable housing.
“I don't want to be reflecting on life and saying, ‘Wow, I've done this, I've got to do this. I've got to go places around the world,’ — is that fun, if I don't bring anybody with me? If my neighbor can't do that? It's not; it's sad in a way,” Coaxum said.
“Our job is to make sure that our neighbor — our community member — has all the tools they need to fly.”
Stay tuned for new episodes every week on the Leaders in Lending Podcast.
