RankingBanking 26 Digital - Flipbook - Page 26
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a competitive strength that generates favorable
for middle Tennessee, also hopes to take advantage
margins. The local, relationship-based model has
of similar disruption in booming Nashville, where
helped SouthState build a deposit base of 1.4
the bank opened a loan production office in the
million deposit accounts with an average balance
trendy Wedgewood/Houston area in April 2025.
of $40,000, according to a recent investor pre-
The group has grown rapidly; Wells moved his staff
sentation. “You can go out and buy deposits; you
into a bigger office in June 2026. He expects to
can get big ones and pay a little bit more,” Young
grow loans by 10% this year, but he has the free-
says, “but when things happen, they get a little
dom to decide where to target that growth. He’s
less sticky.”
focused on middle market borrowers — a market
Retaining Independent’s talent was critical to
the success of the acquisition. SouthState moved
quickly to ensure that happened, says Brooks.
Prior to announcing the deal, Independent’s
executive team and top customer-facing leaders
signed agreements to stay on, he says. That helped
SouthState retain other senior lenders and staff.
Eighteen months later, SouthState has lost a few
senior lenders but “our recruiting of senior lenders
across Texas and Colorado has been very successful, replacing all that we have lost and adding
approximately 20 net new leaders,” says Brooks.
Marinac was an early critic of the Independent
acquisition due to the expansion outside SouthState’s Southeastern home base. But he gives
the bank solid marks so far for the integration.
“They have done a nice job of retaining custom-
“We’re in a spot where the
economic activity is greater
than that of the nation as
a whole. We have a better
opportunity to grow, better
opportunity to participate in
that economic activity.”
ers and people,” he says. However, “the next year
is critical to continue to retain the people and
the customers.”
Richard Murray IV, SouthState Bank Corp.
The decentralized model contributed to the
success of the integration, says Brooks. Integrated
staff feel like they’re still at a smaller company, he
explains, despite the significant leap in size. Now,
with banks such as Huntington Bancshares and
that Pinnacle Financial Partners, fresh off a merg-
Fifth Third Bancorp buying banks in the Lone Star
er with Synovus Financial Corp., has traditionally
State, there should be even more opportunity for
dominated locally. “We’ve become a thorn,” Wells
SouthState. “We have scale in markets that mat-
says, “and that’s been fun to build that out.”
ter,” he says. “Now, as there’s disruption all around
us, we’re able to pick and choose the best talent.”
When he talked to SouthState executives about
joining the bank, he was attracted to the local
leadership model. It reminded him of BB&T Corp.,
Local Leadership in Action
Cameron Wells, SouthState’s division president
which merged with SunTrust Banks in 2019 and
became Truist Financial Corp. “We were known
