Lake Norman Welcomes United Community Bank

Show Notes:

Transcript:

Narrator  
Welcome to The Best of LKN, a podcast featuring the best small businesses and the most influential professionals around Lake Norman, North Carolina. Each week, we spotlight those businesses and individuals that are making a positive impact here in the Lake Norman area. Thanks for joining us, enjoy the show.

Jeff  
Hello, friends and welcome back to The Best of LKN podcast. I have a very special and interesting episode lined up for you. But first, I’d like to thank our sponsors, Sodoma Law North in Cornelius, Blumengärten Florist, also in Cornelius, Clean Eatz cafes in Cornelius and Mooresville, and our newest sponsor Juelerye, a shop in downtown Mooresville that features handcrafted jewelry, fine gifts, and artwork. We are very thankful for the support from these exceptional local businesses. Without their participation, our work here at The Best of LKN wouldn’t be possible. You can learn more about our sponsors by going to our homepage at www.thebestoflkn.com. In this episode, I sit down with Charlie Curtis, the Lake Norman Metro president for United Community Bank. Charlie shares a few of the details behind UCB’s recent acquisition of Aquesta Bank. We discussed the vision for United Community Bank’s expansion into the Lake Norman market, and what it means for local small businesses and former Aquesta clients. Aquesta Bank has been recognized by several of our guests here on the podcast in past episodes for their personalized service and excellence in helping their small business clients navigate the PPP loan process during the COVID-19 pandemic. I know that I, along with many other local Lake Norman small business owners, have enjoyed banking with Aquesta over the years, and we may have wondered at times how the acquisition by United Community Bank would affect our banking experience going forward. I don’t want to give too much away ahead of rolling my conversation with Charlie but let me just say that I think that United Community Bank’s acquisition of Aquesta is good news for the Lake Norman region. I’ll let Charlie share the rest of the details. I’m very proud to welcome United Community Bank and Charlie Curtis to the podcast. Listeners, thanks for joining us. Enjoy this special episode.

Jeff  
Joining me is Charlie Curtis. He is the Lake Norman Metro President and Senior Vice President at United Community Bank. Charlie, welcome to the podcast.

Charlie  
Well, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it, Jeff.

Jeff  
Yeah, really excited to have you here. This is a conversation I’ve been wanting to have for the podcast for quite a while. I have interviewed several guests over the last year and a half that have given Aquesta Bank really positive shout-outs in our interviews and conversations and have really commended them on their performance during the PPP process, which is so top-of-mind for the last year and a half for small business owners, and I bank at Aquesta, so I’ve been wanting to connect with the bank for a conversation for the podcast. Aquesta went through an acquisition recently, and now United Community Bank is our local community bank. So, really looking forward to having this conversation and sharing with the listeners in our audience, some details about the process of that acquisition, what it means for United Community Bank customers and Aquesta, former Aquesta customers, and as well as, you know, what it means for the small business community in the Lake Norman area. So again, welcome to the podcast. Thank you.

Charlie  
No problem at all. I’m excited to be here.

Jeff  
Charlie, before we get into details about United Community Bank, share with the audience a little bit of your background, your education, where you’re from, and a little bit of your career background.

Charlie  
So, I grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, went to school at University of North Carolina Greensboro, graduated from the Bryan School with a double major of Bachelor of Science in Economics and also a Bachelor of Science in Finance. After graduating, I actually went into BB&T’s Management Development Program in Wilson and was part of that bank on the commercial lending team for almost 11 years. I took the role as the Charlotte Market Leader for First Horizon Construction Lending for about four years, spent some time at Silverton on the correspondent lending side and joined Aquesta Bank, believe it or not, as their Western Regional Executive in 2011, and managed the Charlotte and Lake Norman groups for about eight years. I had the opportunity to establish United Community Bank’s presence in Charlotte and then also in Lake Norman, over the last two and a half to three years. And as soon as we established our Lake Norman presence, probably within a couple of months, I got the good news that we were actually going to be acquiring Aquesta, which is, you know, real exciting for me because I get to work with a lot of the same people, both clients as well as employees that I’ve worked with for many years, and it gives me just a real comfort to come home,

Jeff  
it must be really cool to come back and reconnect with a lot of former colleagues and former clients and customers. That’s really neat. I want to kind of get into the nuts and bolts of, but from a really high level, 30,000-foot view of, what was it about Aquesta that appealed to United Community Bank? What kind of sparked the interest for the acquisition and moving into the Lake Norman and Charlotte markets?

Charlie  
Yeah, I think it’s a great question. I mean, if you really want to look at it from a global perspective, the Charlotte and also Lake Norman metropolitan regions are just strong growth areas, there’s just a constant influx of really just new individuals moving into the community, the business community is very vibrant. And I mean, honestly, the weather’s great, too. Everybody just wants to be kind of here in this centralized area. If you look at it, we established our own production offices in Charlotte and Lake Norman first, which gave us really a good foothold. But one of the benefits obviously, is you really do want to have a vibrant, branching network. And so, when you look at partners, you want to make sure that culturally, they’re a fit. And I think to answer your question, what made the most sense for Aquesta, when it comes to the United Community Bank, is the fact that the cultures were just really, really similar. Both are very focused on client service; both are very focused on client experience and making sure that they feel like they can walk into the branch and be known. Although United Community Bank has grown significantly over the years and continues to grow, it has not lost its focus on the client as the number one reason that we do what we do every day. And when you put the CEOs together, Jim Engel and Lynn Harton, you started to realize that these individuals were perfect match and their vision, their cultural focus, was the same. And it really just made a lot of sense for the two to partner together. So, that’s really why I think that United Community focused here in this area.

Jeff  
Going back to about a year ago, year and a half, and we’re kind of in the middle of the COVID-19 situation and when businesses were, you know, a lot of businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, were suffering. I had a few guests on that really gave Aquesta Bank, a lot of credit and recognition for their performance during the PPP process. Ginger and Larry Griffin are entrepreneurs here in the Lake Norman area, owners of Royal Bliss Brewing, they were guests on the podcast, mentioned that and Jon Dressler, owner of Dresser’s Restaurant, of course in Birkdale, and he and his wife, Kim, own the Rail Roots Hospitality Group. All amazing guests. Really enjoyed those conversations. They were quick to point out how beneficial it was to bank with a community bank during such a critical and difficult time, and how amazing it was to get the kind of personalized service that they received and quick service. And I wonder if you could like share a little bit more about how United Community Bank performed, was able to serve its customers during the PPP process.

Charlie  
Happy to do it. It was pretty much an all-hands-on-deck type focus for us. We kind of set aside our normal business activities and we basically jumped full-bore into the PPP program. I can remember working for probably two, two and a half months, 15-hour days, seven days a week, just making sure that we got as many PPP clients taken care of as we could. And it was really exciting for us. I mean, I can speak for myself, but also for my team, it was truly a labor of love. We wanted to make a difference in the community. We knew that there were so many people that were hurting, and we wanted to be responsive. I think one of the biggest complaints we received from so many of our PPP clients was they never felt like they were getting the attention or the focus from some other institutions and the fact that they could call us and speak to somebody on the phone, and we can help them through the process really made an impact. So, it’s interesting, I looked at our numbers before I came in today and in total, United Community Bank, and Seaside, a bank we acquired previously in Florida and Aquesta, total, did 18,790 different PPP loans in the first two rounds, which is just absolutely amazing for banks that are, you know, our size. Of that total, we’ve got about 97% of those loans already processed through The Forgiveness Program. So, for us, that’s exciting, that feels like the clients are getting closure, that we can now move forward that the pandemic albeit not behind us, we can at least, there’s a sense of, alright, we’re ready to move forward as a community. We’ve taken care of everybody, and these companies are moving forward as well. Interestingly enough, our average loan size for all three banks was only $111,000, which is really quite small. And of the total that we did, only 103 were $2 million or larger loans. So, it really shows that all three banks were extremely focused on the small business owners. And I think that’s where the money needed to go. I think it really needed to be impactful within the community to help so many of these businesses get through a very difficult time. I’ve got multiple stories, but I can think of one in particular where a young lady called me, she’d been referred to me by, honestly a client of mine, and she basically said, I really need the money. I haven’t heard anything from my bank in a month, I’ve been waiting on a response to my application, and we just, I know tomorrow’s the last day of the first round, and is there any way you can help me? And it was amazing, we were able to get her loan through the process, and get it submitted to the SBA and get it approved, and her funded within 24 hours. It was amazing. And that’s a story that I’ll always remember because it just made a huge impact on her and her business in a way that just, you can’t even quantify. So, the bank as a whole has been a huge, huge advocate for PPP. And it’s really been something that’s allowed us to springboard into some different things such as our foundation.

Jeff  
Yeah, I appreciate you bringing up the foundation and getting back to that experience with that particular customer, that must be super rewarding. I mean, that just must have been such a rewarding experience to be able to rescue this small business owner. And at such a critical time.

Charlie  
It does matter. And I think that’s the difference. I think the entire staff at both institutions, Aquesta and United Community, were 100% committed to making this work. And we knew that all hands had to be on deck to make sure these people were taken care of because honestly, there our business owners and customers, they’re the ones that we have done business with, and I can’t tell you how many new relationships have been brought over to both banks, just because we were responsive, and were able to help them. It’s exciting and I’m really proud of it. I’m not just proud of it for myself, I’m proud of it for both organizations.

Jeff  
I also follow quite a few of the local small business networking groups, I have a lot of acquaintances who are involved in leadership in those groups or members of those groups, and there was a lot of traffic, a lot of talk. A lot of members reaching out on social media over the course of the, you know, mid-2020 and into 2021, searching for help. They were not getting the kind of service that they needed from their bank and time and time again, Aquesta, which is now of course United Community Bank, came up as a recommended source for a place to go for guidance and assistance during the PPP process. So yeah, I appreciate you sharing that story. I think it’s really important to, you know, to share those stories those real, tangible victories. And that’s the kind of thing we love to share on this podcast. You brought up the foundation.

Charlie  
Sure.

Jeff  
That’s another great thing that I want to talk about. Share a little bit about that.

Charlie  
Yeah, it’s exciting. So obviously, all banks when they did PPP loans received compensation through fees from the SBA. As a bank, our executive leadership team really wanted to make an impact in the community and give back. So, the foundation was established as a result of COVID. It was an initial $10 million investment from those fees. And to date, they’ve done over $350,000 in charitable contributions to over 100 different nonprofit organizations across our footprint. We established a Together for Good counsel, which is made up of about 20 individuals across the bank’s footprint. These employees all are supposed to be boots on the ground with a good understanding of what’s going on their community and what organizations that we can really be focused on and impacting. And they make recommendations that then obviously get approved and go from there. And they do Together for Good Days, we’ve already done five of them, and typically you see up to $25,000 charitable contributions, that where they can go out and just really be impactful in the community and help those businesses and nonprofit businesses achieve their goals and objectives. So, something I think is really exciting is to see this has come from a difficult pandemic, like COVID, something great came from it, not just helping businesses stay afloat, but we’re able to also take this money and make an impact on the nonprofit side,

Jeff  
Giving back, giving back a little bit. I love that. Let’s expand a little bit more about the principles, those core values at United Community Bank, founded in Blairsville, Georgia, in the process of relocating the HQ, is that correct?

Charlie  
Yeah, so basically, the bank holding company will remain in Blairsville, Georgia. The bank headquarters is in Greenville, South Carolina, we are the largest bank headquartered in South Carolina. We are making a large investment in the community as we will be establishing our corporate headquarters on Reedy River Road next to the Bohemian Hotel in downtown Greenville. It is a $24.8 million project that is planned to be completed in 2024. We just see it as an exciting spot for expansion, growth, and a greater presence in the Greenville area. And honestly, no jobs from the current headquarters will be lost or eliminated. And the bank just sees it as an opportunity to really increase its footprint in a centralized location. So, if you think of where we’re located, the bank’s footprint is North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. Greenville is just a natural centralized location in a very robust market. And it just makes a lot of sense. So, we’ve got about 2,400 employees across our footprint right now. Of those employees. 611 are in South Carolina and 433 of those are in the upstate so it just makes a lot of sense for us to have the headquarters there.

Jeff  
Definitely, yeah. And I mentioned before we hit record, you know, our love for Greenville, South Carolina, it’s a really cool city and a great community, great place, and really central for United Community Bank’s interest in, like you said, in the southeast. Another good point that I wanted to bring up, United Community Bank, a community bank, growing, but keeping that community bank culture and passion. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that?

Charlie  
Yeah, I’d be happy to, I think from our perspective, our mission is to, in essence, make the world a better place by providing excellent service, and really the golden rule of banking, which is treat others the way you would want to be treated. And if you put yourself in the shoes of a consumer, and you do that every day, and when you’re looking across the table at a client, and you focus on giving them the best service in the market, it makes a difference. Just because we are a larger institution, it doesn’t mean that we have to lose our focus on service. Because I think once we do, then we stop becoming who United Community Bank has always been. You know, for us banking is a people business. It is and always will be. It’s all about those relationships. And the quickest way to grow your bank, the quickest way to grow any business is word-of-mouth advertising, right? Taking care of clients and they typically are the first ones to say, you need to go see Charlie over at United Community Bank, he takes good care of me, and I know he’ll take good care of you. And I think that’s what has been really, our secret sauce when we look at it from that perspective. So, we want to maintain that small bank feel with that friendly caring and attentive service. We’re also though going to continue to provide large bank capabilities with expansive resources, and also provide the ability to problem solve and give you bankers with really strong expertise and roots in the market. You know, an interesting part of the acquisition of Aquesta was that a large percentage of the staff that was part of Aquesta has been retained by United Community Bank. In fact, we have chosen and will continue to maintain all seven branch locations in the Charlotte area, plus our location at the Pines here in Davidson. All those staff individuals were offered the ability to stay on board and in many cases have. So, I think when clients walk into the branch, they’re going to be seeing the same faces that they were seeing before. So, it allows for a continuation of the same service they were getting from Aquesta, but just with a broader array of services.

Jeff  
Well, I for one, am so glad that a community bank, that Aquesta was acquired by another community bank, and not by one of the, you know, the giant, one of the giants in the industry, so it’s just, it’s why we bank with a community bank, you know, nothing against any other brand. All Brands have their benefits and their capabilities, but we do love banking with a community bank, and we’re so happy that United Community Bank has joined us here in the Lake Norman region, so I’m excited. Speaking of which, what are some benefits, I guess is what I’d like to ask of, for lack of better words, what are some benefits that the Lake Norman community, the small business community, and Aquesta customers, who are now United Community Bank customers, what are some benefits they can expect to see from United Community Bank?

Charlie  
As noted earlier, much larger array of overall services, a strong commitment to wealth management, which obviously is an expanded service for the clients. So, at Aquesta, being a smaller institution, you were going to be limited in the amount of loans that you could do per relationship just based on capital, that was the way it was. We have the ability to do much larger transactions and expand existing relationships, it gives us the ability to grow with these customers for many years to come. Smaller community banks sometimes you can get yourself full with a relationship, and they have to share it with a bigger bank, because they kind of get capped out, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. You know, we’re looking at transactional limitations of up to $25 million a deal up to $40 million a relationship, it is a huge benefit for these business owners that maybe felt like they were being constrained by, you know, working with a smaller bank. So, the goal is, you can continue to have that personal touch, but you can do much larger deals with us that you couldn’t do with say an Aquesta. On top of that, you’re going to get a more robust online banking in treasury service platform, you’re going to see a focus on a wide variety of specialty lending functions that maybe Aquesta wasn’t as focused on, or they were, but it gives us the ability to expand those. So, for example, we have got strong, especially lending groups in commercial real estate, home builder, finance, renewable energy and solar. We do it, our SBA platform is very robust, we have one of the largest SBA teams in the southeast. Again, by allowing us to focus on the small business owners, we also have a focus on franchise lending, as well as other areas such as senior housing. So, really the larger variety of opportunities gives us a chance to step into some, maybe some industries that Aquesta wasn’t able to take care of, for example. Aquesta wasn’t as strong on the asset-based lending side, for example, well, we have the ability to really help business owners in the working capital side and expand into the asset-based lending arena and their market that maybe they weren’t able to. So, all of those things are on the table. It also gives us I think, a stronger presence in the community and ability to give back in a larger, larger level.

Jeff  
I love that for sure. And, you know, just a larger menu of products, a lot more depth in lending capability. A lot of positives there for, especially for small business customers and clients, but as well as non-commercial customers and clients as well. So very, very cool. You brought up the online platform, I have to say, the United Community Bank online platform is just a lot better than what I experienced before, so that’s been a great improvement. And it’s something I recognized immediately, like, yeah, that’s been great. One of the topics that I love to bring up during these conversations, and don’t worry, I’m not going to put you on the spot, but I want to, I do want to recognize the fact that these conversations, I usually ask my guests to recognize some local small businesses that they love. United Community Bank has a lot of small business customers, we’re not going to single anyone out. So, I’m not going to put you on the spot and ask you to do that. Can you share some of the goals or plans for the future locally in Lake Norman, anything that kind of stands out or anything that or any processes that have begun?

Charlie  
I think the first step anytime that there is any acquisition, and a conversion, is to make sure that you take care of the clients that you already have and making sure that the transition, the conversion goes well. There’s always going to be pain points, there’s always going to be something that didn’t convert over the way that it should. So, I really, our team right now is focused on establishing client and customer contact to make sure that they’re happy and pleased with where they are, to make sure where the pain points are, to make sure that we’re addressing them and getting them set up to where they can feel comfortable moving forward. As soon as we kind of get through that, which I’m hoping maybe over the next 60 to 90 days, there is a strong focus on being very active and outbound in the community making sure that the commercial lending team, which the commercial lending team here at the lake is exactly the one that was here with Aquesta so it’s all the same faces, to be outbound making sure that everyone knows what we can bring to the community which we weren’t able to do before at Aquesta. So really, I think that it’s a two-step process, take care of those clients that are with you right now, making sure they’re comfortable, getting them acclimated. Because obviously, you want to make sure you eliminate the pain points, and then stepping out there and making sure that you’re sharing the good word. And that’s really what we’re focused on right now. So, where could we go from here? I don’t see, I think that we will continue to maintain all of our branch locations, our staff will remain the same so clients should feel comfortable that they’re going to be able to do business with the people they were doing business with before. But it also gives me a vast branching network to work with here in the community where people have a lot of different places where they can do their banking. On the same token, I think we’re going to focus heavily on trying to implement a lot of the new services that Aquesta wasn’t able to offer at the level we were before. As we touched on, wealth management is a big push for us. We acquired FinTrust here in the last 12 months, they’ve been a fantastic acquisition for us as they’ve really broadened our scope from an investment standpoint. I think that we’re going to continue to focus on those clients that we weren’t able to help before. And so, for example, many small businesses had reached their limit, with Aquesta, we can get back out there and expand those relationships and maybe bring them 100% in-house where we can give them a one-stop shop for their banking needs. So, all of those things are going on at the same time. I don’t envision a lot of changes. And I think that’s important to the clients is, I don’t envision a lot of, you know, United’s just going to be completely different than what Aquesta was. And we’ve seen that happen with some banking acquisitions where the culture completely changes. The client focus completely changes, whether for the good or bad, and I think customers want to feel like there’s consistency. And I think that you’re going to see that consistency here in the market.

Jeff  
Especially since United Community Bank was able to retain so much of the staff and commercial customers and non-commercial customers. But we’ll continue to see familiar faces here locally, at the branches in the Lake Norman area and elsewhere. And that’s great, and just a broader scope of products and services, a greater depth of lending capability. All I see our positives. I think this is great. I think it’s great for the community, and especially for local small businesses. I think it’s wonderful. Charlie, what are some ways that small businesses can learn more about United Community Bank?

Charlie  
Yeah, I will say this, I will offer anyone listening to this podcast the ability to contact me directly, I will provide you my cell phone number right now, which means they can call me 24/7, and I will answer the phone and give them that accessibility to me. So, the telephone number is 704-439-7193. That is my personal cell phone number. It is with me all the time. Call me anytime, if you have questions or concerns or honestly, if you just have an opportunity, and you want to bounce it off of somebody different to get a perspective, I’m happy to do that. They call me directly and then I will make sure that we get the right individual within our team to connect with them and make sure they’re taken care of. I think it’s the easiest way to do it. And I’m not afraid to put the telephone number out there because I really want people to feel like they have that personal touch with me. So many times when somebody rolls into an executive position or a senior banking position, or really just a senior position in any organization, sometimes people are afraid to reach out to them because maybe they feel like maybe they’re bothering them or they’re in a position where they can’t reach them. I think it’s the exact opposite Jim Engle did an amazing job of that when he was running Aquesta Bank, he was always accessible to the clients, and I want to continue that. And so, I want everyone to feel like they can reach out to me at any time and kind of take it from there.

Jeff  
Charlie, I really appreciate that. That’s strong, I’ll make sure that the phone number is not edited out and I might even put it in the show notes.

Charlie  
There you go.

Jeff  
I’ll have links, of course, to all of the United Community Bank online resources that customers might be interested in looking for, as well as obviously just the main link, the homepage as well. The locations here in the Lake Norman area, I’ll have locations and addresses in the show notes as well. Anything else you want to share before we close, Charlie, any words for the community?

Charlie  
Well, I think the only thing I can say is thank you. And I’m so grateful to the community for accepting United Community into their homes and allowing us to slide in and be a part of the community. It’s very hard to see a bank like Aquesta, who I put in extremely high regard, leave the community, but the best part about this is, it never left. It’s just part of a bigger bank that can provide greater services. But I’m just grateful for the clients that have put their trust in us, and I’m grateful that they’ve given us the opportunity to help them through the transition, continue to help them through the transition, and to stay with us as we’ve continued to implement our culture within the community. We’re just grateful. And I’m so happy to be part of this community. I’ve been part of this community for over 20 years as we live in Huntersville, personally. My children went to school here and we’ll continue to be a part of the community for many years to come. And I’m just excited to be here and I’m willing to help anyone that needs it.

Jeff  
That’s really well said, and a bigger bank, but still with that community bank culture and mission and character, right?

Charlie  
Sure.

Jeff  
It’s really well said, Charlie, I appreciate that. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to come onboard here at the podcast and share a little bit of the United Community Bank story and some details about that acquisition with Aquesta. And I know I’m personally relieved that we still have a community bank in the area and I’m excited for the future. So, thank you again for your time. Charlie Curtis, the Lake Norman Metro President, and a Senior Vice President with United Community Bank. Charlie, thanks again for joining the podcast.

Charlie  
Thank you.

Jeff  
Many thanks again to Charlie Curtis and United Community Bank for joining the podcast. I’m excited for the new opportunities United Community Bank brings to the Lake Norman area. Listeners, you can learn more about United Community Bank at www.ucbi.com. I’ll have that link as well as the addresses for the local Lake Norman branches in the show notes for this episode. As always, the complete show notes for all of our episodes can be found at the home for Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast, www.thebestoflkn.com. Many thanks again to our sponsors Sodoma, Law North, Blumengärten Florist, Clean Eatz cafes, and Juelerye. All have been guests on this podcast, and I’ll have links to their episodes in the show notes. Please do consider supporting these businesses who so generously support the work we do here at The Best of LKN. That’s going to do it for this episode. Thanks as always for joining us and supporting the local Lake Norman small businesses and nonprofits that we feature here on The Best of LKN. We’ll be back next week with another episode. So, until then, cheers Lake Norman. Bye for now.

Narrator  
We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of The Best of LKN. For more information about this podcast, show notes, video episodes, and links to our featured businesses, please visit www.thebestoflkn.com. We publish episodes weekly, so be sure to subscribe and stay up to date. Until next time, cheers Lake Norman.