BankSouth is More Than a Bank, Says Senior Vice President of Sales and Service Bob Slocum
Thursday, November 20th, 2014
BankSouth is more than a bank. In truth, it is actually two banks – The Citizens Bank and the Bank of Union Point. Both banks were founded in the early part of the twentieth century, and along the way they merged into one. The century-old marriage turned out to be a happy one since BankSouth is still locally owned and operated by a board of members who have been dedicated to it for decades. The bank was known as Citizens Union until adopting the name BankSouth in 2004. When asked who BankSouth is, Senior Vice President of Sales and Service Bob Slocum can tell you.
“We are a community bank first and foremost,” he says. “We want to know our customers and want them to know us. I believe BankSouth is unique because we are big enough to compete with the mega-banks, yet small enough to be very responsive to our customers.”
Their approach is something customers seem to connect with; some of them have been with BankSouth for five generations. Today, BankSouth has nearly 400 million dollars in assets and has four full-service bank branches – downtown Greensboro, Lake Oconee, Watkinsville and Atlanta/Sandy Springs. They also have a loan production office in Athens. Recently, the Independent Community Bankers Association recognized them as one of the top 20 community banks in the country for ROE and ROA. Slocum believes that is because of the BankSouth staff.
“At BankSouth, we take a proactive approach,” he says. “We take steps to establish and create innovative products to best serve our customers. Our entire team, all the way to the Chairman Harold Reynolds, is focused on superior customer service.”
Slocum oversees Sales, Service and Marketing for BankSouth. He manages two business development officers and assists five commercial lenders with sales efforts along with the personal banking team. He is a busy man, but he likes it that way.
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur, having started and sold two mortgage companies before joining the bank,” he says.
He says that being a good listener has been his greatest challenge because communication is more about listening than talking. And in his case, that is a unique twist of fate. Four years ago, Slocum lost all hearing in his left ear. Frustrated by the loss, but far from defeated, he continues to make the most of it.
“I decided if that was the worst thing to happen to me then I must be a lucky man,” he says. “I think it really made me better appreciate others with more serious handicaps. I really concentrate on listening now and am better for it.”
When Slocum is not taking care of business at BankSouth, he is enjoying the Athens/Oconee community with his family. A man of action, Slocum and his family made the move a decade ago. He and his wife Lisa are happy to raise their twins, Sam and Sarah in this area.
“We are 100% certain we made a great decision,” he says. “What a great community to live, work, and play!”
For more information about BankSouth, visit their website at, www.banksouth.com.
