President and CEO, WaterStone Bank
11200 Plank Court, Wauwatosa
www.wsbonline.com
Industry: Banking
Employees: 783
Family: Wife (Terri) and three sons (Ryan, Eric and Matt); granddaughter (Mallory)
“WSB went fully public in 2014, raising $250 million in new equity. This new equity gives us the ability to expand our footprint and our product offerings, like our new Investment Services initiative and our MVP program, developed for our military and veterans. The new equity gives WSB the ability to grow to three times our current size. More importantly, it gives us the opportunity to grow our current customer base.”
How many bank branches have you opened this year? What is fueling your growth?
“We opened our Brookfield branch last year, which was our first new branch since 2007. At the end of September, we are planning to open a new branch in Greenfield, along with another branch in Fox Point in October. We continue to fill out our footprint in southeastern Wisconsin to provide convenience to our current customers and to serve other communities in our market. This will now give us 11 branches in metro Milwaukee. Our growth has been fueled by gaining market share, expanding our lending to the Twin Cities, and via growth in Waterstone Mortgage, our nationwide mortgage origination subsidiary.”
What will be WaterStone Bank’s main challenges in the next year?
“Leveraging our capital via organic growth in this competitive environment is our biggest challenge. The new capital is beneficial for future growth, but is very hard to leverage in an expedited timeframe. Today’s loan market is not robust by any means and, with excess liquidity in the marketplace, makes the environment extremely competitive. We will look to aggressively grow our Business Banking and Commercial Real Estate portfolios by offering competitive pricing and terms geared to the customer’s needs and cash flow.”
What kind of community organizations and initiatives has the bank supported? Why is philanthropy a priority?
“Each year we contribute $500,000 to $600,000 to local schools and nonprofits in the communities we serve. Our focus is on improving the education of our children and aiding and assisting families in need. Our employees donate countless hours to these organizations, as well. We strongly believe at WSB in giving back and supporting the communities we serve.”
From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?
“I was fortunate to have two great mentors in my career, Ron Condroski (old Marine Bank) and Bob Schaefer (Security Bank). They were well-respected bankers with the utmost integrity. Ron taught me lending and Bob, bank management, which prepared me for my current position at WSB. I admire the current bank management in our market, as their banks are financially strong and worthy competitors.”
What was the best advice you ever received?
“The only way to have your bank’s results suffer is to make bad loans. Quality loans are the key to a successful bank. Personally, the best advice I received was from Coach Dick Bennett. My sons and I would annually attend his father and son camp at UW-Madison on Father’s Day weekend. I asked Dick, ‘What is the best thing I can do for my sons?’ His response was, ‘Love their mother.’”
Do you have a business mantra?
“Treat your employees well, and the customers and shareholders will benefit. Motivated, competent and satisfied employees will provide exceptional customer service, which will lead to positive results for shareholders.”
What do you like to do in your free time?
“Golf and attend high school, college and professional sporting events.”
Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your bank in the next year?
“Our mortgage subsidiary (Waterstone Mortgage) is continually acquiring new mortgage branches throughout the U.S. Since our 2006 acquisition of WMC, its employment has gone from 25 to 600 employees. We see significant opportunity to grow that model. We will nurture the three new branches, as we look to grow in those communities, before we add new branches.”
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you in your career?
“I had a customer tell me, ‘You would lend someone a hotdog if they had a hamburger for collateral.’”
