Banking On Character

Community Comments

Today, she has a pile of flooring samples next to her small conference table. "That's from our new Modesto office we'll be opening around the new year in 2008, says Reaves.  "This is about as far south as we'll go. The area is very fast growing, a new business-and-retail area, a new hospital going in and no other banking around yet."

She's the CEO and she's choosing flooring for her latest branch. That attention to detail is part of the reason she is where she is -- this banker cares about everything connected to River City, especially the customers. With her engaging eye, sensible shoes, and direct and cheerful manner, it's easy to imagine her marching out through businesses doing business with the $849 million bank. "Yesterday, I walked a lumberyard in the morning, met a developer for lunch, and in the afternoon met with a school. I'm out there. I love it. I visit both prospects as well as customers," she says.

Reaves can remind one of a very smart grandmother. Or Margaret Thatcher. She makes it clear that what she really wants is "a partnership. This is the way it works best. Understanding their business and making sure that we can add value as financial consultants and making sure that it is truly a partnership, a relationship meeting each others' needs."

Reaves is old school  in a modern age, a hands-on, warm banker who has firm opinions about what your business needs. She has a close relationship with her board, a who's who of old Sacramento business names including chairman of the board Jon Kelly of the family that created KCRA 3 and co-founded the bank in 1973, representatives from Sutter Health and Parker Development of El Dorado Hills, as well as a car dealer, rancher, retired CPA and banker. Also two members of the Crystal Cream & Butter Co., a local stalwart (and co-founding family of the bank) that has fallen on hard times recently.

She's tough. But is she modern enough? Did she miss a giant opportunity to aggressively own capital region banking over the past decade? Deposit growth has been decelerating, and earnings per share are all over the place. Where's the growth?

Another big part of River City's business -- and a key differentiator from the others interviewed -- is in its consumer side business, consisting of nearly 50 percent of the banks' business. "If we are doing business banking with a company we really want to provide banking services to its employees, Reaves says. "We can help in the relationship between a business and its employees." River City has a legal lending limit, based on its capital and assets, of $25 million or so. Its loan-to-asset ratio is 61 percent. Safe. No exposure to the sub-prime market, and, although it does provide mortgages, they are immediately sold to secondary markets.

"Look, you can run up totals for earnings or you can be a relationship bank. Although our earnings may not be the strongest, we think we have the best customer base," Reaves explains. "We're not just going to sell the product of the day. All of us have the same products, if it is electronically driven or handed to you. You can get off-the-shelf business banking services. An online banking system. Fraud detection. Card services. We're trying to be in a partnership kind of relationship. That's really, really important to us."

Stockmans Bank

Gary Wright could be Gary Cooper. He comes ambling toward you wearing a banker's dark suit. Tall, square-shouldered, a thick mane of hair, a strong handshake. A bit laconic, with a Southwestern drawl, he seems every inch the straight-shooter.  It's when we're crossing the entry foyer to his second-story office in a "bank in a box" -- a square, two-story stucco building hard by the 99 Hwy. in Elk Grove that serves as Stockmans Bank's world headquarters--that I see the cowboy boots.

• Share
  • Digg This
  • del.icio.us
  • Newsvine
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Furl It
  • !Y My Web
  • Google
• Email
• Print

Recommend This

Community Comments