Marine Bank’s Kolton shares his passion for business banking

Always on call, he knows the anatomy of your condition inside and out. You go to him for regular check-ups, and your situation is always kept highly confidential.
No, it’s not your personal doctor we’re talking about here, but a banker. And one who has helped redefine the industry and the old-fashioned notion of "banker’s hours" as well.
Greg Kolton, president and CEO of Marine Bank, headquartered in Pewaukee, says he conducts his business much like a medical doctor takes care of his patients. "I am in many ways like a doctor," he says. "(My clients) come in for regular check-ups – we go over their financial records and see how they’re doing, they call on me any time they need help. … Trust and confidentiality are very important in this field."
With nearly 30 years’ experience in the banking industry, Kolton says he’s had a passion for this line of work since he was a small child. "I always wanted to be a banker – it always intrigued me," he says.
Kolton began his career at First National Bank of Waukesha in 1971 in the lending and administrative department. After several years with the company he left to join First Wisconsin Bank. A few years later he was offered a position with M&I Data (Northern), where he remained until an opportunity arose in 1997 to join a new financial institution with an old, familiar name – Marine Bank.
Originally purchased as First Ozaukee Bank, the founder and CEO of the holding company, Central Illinois Bank (CIB), Inc., then based in Champaign, Ill., happened to be an ex-employee of the defunct Marine Bank based in Milwaukee. (The bank was purchased in 1987 by Bank One and was one of the oldest financial institutions in the city.) In a clever marketing move, the name Marine Bank was chosen for the new Pewaukee-based facility. "When we purchased First Ozaukee Savings, we changed the name immediately to Marine Bank and Savings," according to Kolton. "The name Marine Bank had been protected [by Bank One] in downtown Milwaukee but not anywhere else."
A year or so later the bank changed its name to simply Marine Bank when it evolved from a savings institution to a state-chartered bank. The holding company, in turn, also changed its name to CIB Marine Bank Shares, Inc., and moved its offices from Illinois up to Pewaukee. Kolton was named president last June.
Kolton says he is most proud of the relationships he has maintained with his clients over the years as well as the internal team he has assembled – which is comprised of approximately 50, mostly hand-picked, employees. "We personally went out and hired high-quality individuals from each company we were going to compete with," he recalls. "It was a patchwork quilt, to some degree, of talent in the area."
Equally as important is the personal service Kolton says he provides in helping companies manage their core business activities. "A lot of satisfaction comes from helping them to achieve their financial goals," he says. And treating a customer’s business as if it were his own is how he keeps such passion for his work. "I was told one time a long time ago that I should treat the bank’s money as if it were my own. And that’s what I do. My clients know that they can count on me and call on me any time.
"If I ever had an epitaph," he continues, "it would be: ‘He was there when we needed him.’"
And the myth of the stodgy banker, sitting at his desk counting money, is the antithesis of Kolton’s view of the industry. "Anybody that says banking is boring doesn’t know enough about this business," he says. "Every day is different – we like to have fun at this business. And ‘bankers’ hours’ – I don’t even know what that is."
A graduate of St. Pius XI High School, Milwaukee, Kolton holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from UW-Whitewater and a master’s in banking from Rutgers University, N.J. A husband and father of three, Kolton admits that, aside from some occasional reading, he has little interest in outside hobbies or diversions. "I’d rather be doing this – all the time," he says. "It’s in my blood."
On the subject of the current economic condition in the US, the "good doctor" has this to say: "I think we’re in the early stages of somewhat of a downturn today – maybe not as bad as the early ’70s or early ’80s, but maybe somewhat like the early ’90s."
Kolton also believes that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s decision to cut interest rates in early January was a wise decision, albeit a delayed one. "I think it was a good decision; I just think it was too late – he should’ve done it sooner …. I think this is the first in a series of rate reductions that will occur and that should help stop the economy from crashing into the ground.
"I think it’s not going to be as soft a landing as everybody had hoped it would be."