By
Christine Paddock
It was Missouri native Mark Twain that said “A banker is a fellow
who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants
it back the minute it begins to rain.” But had Twain met Joe
Imbs he might have felt a little differently.
“There’s absolutely nothing else that I’d rather do than this,”
says Imbs, St. Louis market president and regional chairman
for U.S. Bank. “I’m doing something I love, and I have the opportunity
to really get involved in the St. Louis community. I’m having
so much fun, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Spend some time with Imbs and you can’t imagine it either. His
enthusiasm for his chosen profession and St. Louis is contagious.
You get the feeling he’d not only lend you his umbrella, but
he’d show up in a life boat if things really got tough.
Of course considering he’s a hometown boy, it’s really not that
surprising. His Norwegian/French/German background fits nicely
into the St. Louis landscape. What’s more, he’s not the least
bit surprised when you ask the question, what high school did
you go to? In his case, it was St. Louis Priory and he graduated
in 1970. He did leave town to attend Georgetown University in
Washington D.C. where he got a business degree. He returned
home again and earned his MBA while working at Mercantile Bank.
“It wasn’t actually something I planned to do with my life.
I just thought it was interesting. I didn’t even know whether
or not I’d stick with it. I just knew I wanted to learn more,”
he says. “I interviewed with a number of banks, but ended up
in the management development program at Mercantile Bank. As
it turned out I enjoyed it immensely.”
That’s putting it mildly. For the past 30 years, Imbs and banking
have almost been synonymous. And with the exception of a five
year period when he worked for American Bank in South St. Louis,
you might say he’s been a loyal company man from the very start.
“I began with Mercantile and then worked for American Bank.
Then Mercantile acquired American Bank, so I found myself right
back at Mercantile,” he says laughing. “Of course, then Mercantile
was acquired by Firststar which also acquired U.S. Bank. We
took that name. So basically I’ve always been here. And it’s
a good time to be part of U.S. Bank.”
(Left
to right): Craig Schnuck, chairman and CEO,
Schnuck Markets Inc.; Kevin Coffey, mayor of Eureka;
Joe Imbs, U.S. Bank St. Louis market president and
regional chairman; and Jack Jackson, U.S. Representative,
cut the ceremonial ribbons celebrating the start
of the exciting new partnership between U.S. Bank
and Schnucks in the St. Louis area. |
|
Currently, U.S. Bank is the sixth largest bank in the United
States, as well as the most profitable one. Its assets exceed
$200 billion, and in less than 10 years it has doubled in size
four times due to acquisitions. It’s parent company, U.S. Bancorp,
through its predecessor companies, has paid a dividend to its
shareholders for 143 consecutive years. And since 1993, has
returned nearly 80 percent of its earnings to U.S. Bank investors.
In his capacity as regional chairman, Imbs manages the Missouri,
Kansas and Colorado markets. Presently in Kansas City, the bank
is the fourth largest in its market, while in Denver, the bank
ranks number two. But it’s the St. Louis market that takes top
honors.
“We’re the largest bank in St. Louis and in all of Missouri,”
Imbs says. “We also have the most employees, the most branches
and the most ATMs. But bigness doesn’t always make you the best
by any stretch of the imagination. However, what it does is
bring you the resources and the commitment to the community
to expand your platform.”
And U.S. Bank is using its resources in a unique way. Rather
than putting them toward increasing low market shares, it’s
concentrating on high market areas in hopes of increasing them
even more. They’re calling it their Powerbank Strategy, and
the emphasis is on convenience and customer-friendly service.
“U.S. Bank is a dominant player in St. Louis, but it will only
continue to grow if customers find us open wherever and whenever
they need us,” Imbs explains. “So about a year ago, as part
of our Powerbank Strategy, we entered into an exclusive partnership
with Schnucks supermarkets to put in-store branches in their
St. Louis area stores.”
This partnership is not only the catalyst for their Powerbank
Strategy, but a major investment in the community. U.S. Bank
plans to open branches inside 30 Schnucks supermarkets and to
place ATMs within the remaining 38 stores. As new stores are
built, more in-store branches will open as well. It not only
brings customers the convenience of one-stop shopping, but it
means 250 to 300 new jobs in the area. And to sweeten the deal
for customers, U.S. Bank is keeping its in-store branches open
seven days a week. According to Imbs, that’s something no other
bank in the area can claim.
“It’s just not economical to open a traditional branch on Sunday.
But sometimes people may need to bank on Sunday. So we’re giving
them plenty of opportunities and options for that,” he says.
“And no other bank in St. Louis actually has a branch open on
Sunday.”
Taking it a step further, U.S. Bank has also extended its hours
in both the in-store locations, as well as its traditional branches.
This gives them the distinction of being open longer than any
other bank in the St. Louis marketplace. It also makes the old
saying about bankers’ hours passé. It’s been a very successful
concept. In fact, it’s been so successful that U.S. Bank has
taken it across the country.
“As a result, we are the second largest in-store banking center
in the country, behind Wells Fargo,” Imbs says. “I believe they
have about 650 locations and we’ll have somewhere over 500 by
end of year. But the response in St. Louis has been tremendous,
and we’re very proud of that.”
|
(Left
to right): Joe Imbs, U.S. Bank St. Louis market
president; Mike Brown, branch manager Swansea Schnucks;
Chris Ryan, vice president, district manager, North
St. Louis and Illinois In-Stores. |
|
Of course, grocery stores are only part of this equation. U.S.
Bank now also has locations on college and corporate campuses
in the area, including Saint Louis University, Maritz, BJC Hospital,
and Lambert International Airport. And as with its in-store
locations, customer service is the main priority.
“We measure all our lines of business and the performance of
our branches throughout the country every month. This gives
us a good idea of how well we’re satisfying customers needs,
not only compared to our peers, but to our competitors as well,”
says Imbs. “It’s something that’s very important to us.”
Although the Powerbank Strategy puts a great deal of focus on
consumer banking, Imbs says to really have an efficient and
strong banking organization you need to cover the entire spectrum—consumer
banking, commercial, payment solutions and private client and
trust.
“Consumer banking is our largest segment, but you can’t just
be a consumer bank. You need all legs of the stool to meet the
demands of the community,” he explains. “Commercial and corporate
banking is of course very important, as is payment solutions,
which involves processing debit and credit card transactions
for businesses. And of course, we have long had private banking
services.”
Imbs says private client services are directed primarily at
the higher net worth individuals whose needs are perhaps more
complex and sophisticated than others. They are provided with
a much higher level of financial service, covering everything
from traditional banking and lending needs, to investment and
retirement needs.
“Private client and trust services are a significant part of
our business,” he adds. “They are fee businesses. And right
now with margins being extremely compressed, those fee businesses
are very important.”
Also important to U.S. Bank, and Imbs in particular, is the
bank’s reputation for giving back to the community.
|
U.S.
Bank is a long-standing contributor for Fair St.
Louis. |
|
“Having grown up here, it’s important for me to be able to give
something back. Being part of U.S. Bank affords me that opportunity
in ways I could never have achieved otherwise,” he comments.
Imbs is on the board of a number of St. Louis organizations,
including the United Way, Boy Scouts, St. Louis Zoo, RCGA, Muny
Opera, Fair St. Louis, Saint Louis University and Civic Progress.
But he’s quick to point out that this is not something unique
to him.
“I think you’d find it pretty hard to find a board anywhere
in St. Louis, in terms of charitable and community organizations,
where there’s not someone from U.S. Bank involved,” he says.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do for the community.”
U.S. Bank has been recognized as one of the most generous companies
in St. Louis and for a good reason. In 2005, they donated more
than $2.5 million locally for economic development, education,
affordable housing and arts non-profit organizations. The bank
has been a long-standing contributor for events like Fair St.
Louis, the U.S. Bank St. Louis Jazz & Heritage Festival, The
Muny Opera, and the Broadway Series at the Fox. It also supports
a myriad of programs, venues and events, such as collegiate
and amateur sports, centers for the arts, and civic and local
community events.
“The St. Louis Business Journal named U.S. Bank the number one
charitable contributor of all the financial institutions in
St. Louis, and sixth in charitable giving among all St. Louis
companies,” says Imbs. “Of course, we’re very proud of that.
But more importantly, we’re proud of the number of volunteer
hours that our employees give.”
U.S. Bank employees have put their efforts into teaching financial
literacy to children and adults, assisting with the completion
of tax returns for low-income individuals, and preparing people
for home ownership or owning a small business. They’ve also
volunteered their time to causes like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts,
Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, Junior Achievement, Habitat
for Humanity, and the March of Dimes’. And it’s through their
efforts that U.S. Bank is one of about 13 companies in St. Louis
who give over a million dollars to the United Way each year.
“That is what impresses me about St. Louis. We take care of
our own, whether it’s a company, an organization, or an individual
within the community,” says Imbs. “If something needs to be
done, we put our shoulder to it and get it done. And the corporate
involvement is amazing. It’s very unique. I don’t see it at
the same level in other cities, at least not with the same intensity
and passion. It’s really great to be part of a community like
this.”
And despite having its corporate headquarters in Minneapolis,
U.S. Bank is fitting right in with the St. Louis crowd. This
doesn’t always happen when local companies are acquired by out-of-state
conglomerates. Often, these companies lose their identities
and their connection with the community. Not so with U.S. Bank,
says Imbs.
“It’s true. Quite often in acquisitions a legacy organization
is left behind. But U.S. Bank is very supportive of every market
running autonomously and supporting its community. That’s what
makes us strong and I think what makes us a little different
than some of the other banks,” he says. “As a result, we’ve
grown tremendously.”
There are over 100 U.S. Bank branches currently in the St. Louis
area, including their in-store and campus locations. Altogether
they employ about 3,400 people. Over 400 of these are recent
hires, thanks to the organization’s Powerbank Strategy. But
Imbs says you can’t disregard the contributions made by Mercantile
Bank.
“There’s no doubt about it. It was a very strong franchise,
and that has played a tremendous role in our success as U.S.
Bank,” he says. “Mercantile had about $35 billion in assets.
But U.S. Bank has taken that legacy to the next level. We now
have $213 billion in assets. That’s tremendous growth you can
do a lot with.”
And with the variety of businesses that we have in St. Louis,
Imbs says he believes that growth will continue to increase
at a steady rate.
“This is not a boom area of the country, but it’s not feast
or famine either. It’s kind of a steady-Eddie economy that continues
to do well by virtue of its diversity. We don’t have one industry
with a dominating impact on our economy,” he explains. “We’re
blessed with many large organizations, such as Anheuser-Busch
and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. And you can see, these are very disparate
industries. So it’s been steady, solid growth. And that’s a
pretty good indication that this is a great market for us to
operate in.”
As for what the future holds for U.S. Bank, Imbs says they’ll
just be “sticking to their knitting.”
“It’s going to be business as usual. We just acquired a banking
organization in Vail, Colorado to expand our banks from Denver
into the mountains. And I would expect we’ll do more of those
things throughout the country as opportunities arise. But other
than that, we’ll just continue to focus on what we think we
do best—delivering quality service and products to our customers.”
As for what he would like to specifically accomplish in St.
Louis, Imbs says without a doubt it’s an increase in customer
loyalty.
“We’re at about 60 percent right now, and we’re very proud of
that. But our goal is to increase that to 70 to 75 percent.
That’s exceedingly strong in the banking business,” he says.
“So we want to get those loyalty scores up even higher.”
As for his business philosophy, Imbs says it’s simple. “Grow
revenues faster than expenses. Now that’s something we should
all live by.”
