While many banks are struggling during difficult economic times, Flushing Savings Bank is thriving.
Last month, Flushing Financial Corporation, the parent holding company for Flushing Savings Bank, announced net income for the first quarter at a record $7.2 million - an increase of $1.8 million – or 32.8 percent from the first quarter in 2007.
The latest filing continued a trend from last year as the company continued to grow its balance sheet and saw operating improvement across the board during 2007. Loan originations were at a record $746 million for the year, while the mainstays of the business continued to be multi-family and commercial real estate.
Meanwhile, throughout the past few years, the bank has added new products as well as experienced staff in business and commercial banking, while at the same time strengthening its core business.
“We set the stage for the Bank through asset growth and the development of new businesses for results that are taking place today and position us well into the future,” said John Buran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Flushing Savings Bank.
BUSINESS BANKING
Throughout the past few years, Flushing Savings Bank has strengthened its commitment to business banking.
“We were fortunate that we were able to get some very talented people in a relatively short period of time,” said Theresa Kelly, Senior Vice President and Business Banking Director. “At Flushing Savings Bank, we take a hands-on, “roll up your sleeves” approach to getting business done. This approach leads us to winning deals, and effectively separates us from our competition.”
In order to become more “commercial-like,” Flushing Savings Bank launched a number of new products in 2007 including a lockbox, remote deposit and a more robust business online banking service.
The bank’s remote deposit, a “Point-Click-Scan” electronic banking tool, enables customers to scan and deposit their checks right from their office desktop. “This service has proven to be a huge success for our customers and the Bank,” Kelly said. “It creates a very efficient method of making deposits for a wide range of businesses.”
In addition, the bank’s lockbox service enables customers to enhance their cash flow by processing their incoming payments from a central postal location, and having them electronically credited to their business checking account.
BECOMING MORE COMMERCIAL-LIKE
During the past five years, Flushing Savings Bank has more than doubled its mixed-use and multi-family portfolio to more than $1.6 billion, while maintaining high credit standards and avoiding the subprime lending market.
Flushing Savings Bank has remained committed to the mixed-use/multi-family real estate lending business that now accounts for 60 percent of the bank’s real estate lending portfolio.
“It’s a line of business that I think we understand best of all the institutions in the city,” said Frank Korzekwinski, Executive Vice President and Chief of Real Estate Lending.
Building on the successes of the business banking team, Flushing Savings Bank is integrating its resources to help expand the relationships it has with its current real estate customers.
“Our team concept enables us to focus on our successful real estate lending ventures while incorporating our Business Bankers’ expertise to develop the full customer relationship,” said Maria A. Grasso, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “As a result, we can do everything in this office; we don’t have to call another state to get things approved and go through all the red tape. I think that’s been a real key for us; we can make decisions quickly.”
FLUSHING COMMERCIAL BANK
The newest sector of Flushing Savings Bank started in 2007 when the company launched its wholly owned subsidiary, Flushing Commercial Bank.
The government-banking unit is designed to serve public entities including counties, towns, school districts, libraries and other municipalities throughout the metropolitan area.
“We are going to provide a no fee government banking model along with competitive rates on CDs and on notes,” said Patricia Mezeul, Senior Vice President and Director of Government Banking. “With over 30-years of combined government banking experience, the goal of our team is to provide governmental entities with personalized service and customized solutions in order to maximize their interest revenues and solve all of their daily banking needs.
COMMUNITY COMMITMENT
While expanding other divisions of the business, Flushing Savings Bank also recognized the need to increase commitment to the communities they already serve.
Last year, the bank opened an Asian Banking Center in the heart of downtown Flushing to bring better service to the Korean and Chinese communities that are present in the area.
“We recognized in trying to build rapport with our multi-cultural customers that it’s important to provide bilingual and trilingual staffing and communications material so that we can develop a greater affinity throughout the communities we serve,” Buran said.
The Asian Banking Center, which is located at 136-41 Roosevelt Avenue, has employees that speak both Chinese and Korean, and the center serves as an educational tool for customers to learn the basics of banking.
Charlie Suh, Senior Vice President and Director of Asian Markets, who joined Flushing Savings Bank in 2007 with 20 years of commercial bank experience, believes that educating the customers about the different options they have at the bank is a very important first step to developing a relationship between the bank and the customer.
“Once you build their trust, they become your customer forever,” Suh said.
In addition to the Asian Banking Center, Flushing Savings Bank has employees that speak 35 different languages and dialects working at the 13 other branch locations in Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau County and Manhattan.
Throughout the year, bank employees conduct education seminars and workshops at the different branches and organize on-site visits to businesses and groups to inform the sectors about the different options they have at Flushing Savings Bank.
“As bankers who live and work in the communities we serve, our goal is to be recognized as the bank that provides the highest quality service combined with the ability to financially satisfy each of our customers’ individual financial needs,” said Cathy de Pasquale, Vice President and Director of Retail Banking.
GOING ONLINE
As technology continues to expand and more and more people are using the Internet, Flushing Savings Bank has given its customers more options to do their banking online.
In 2006, the bank launched iGObanking.com giving customers access to top-of-the market iGOsavings account rates, no fees and no minimums as well as high rates on CD accounts.
Bill Franz, Vice President and Director of Marketing for Flushing Savings Bank, said that launching iGObanking.com has allowed the bank to expand the business to all 50 states and enables customers to do their banking at their convenience.
At the end of last year, iGObanking.com had already amassed $133 million in deposits making it the bank’s fifth largest branch.
FUTURE
Looking to the future, Flushing Savings Bank wants to continue with its strategic initiatives to become more “commercial-like,” as well introduce new products to its customer base.
During the second quarter of 2008, the bank plans to introduce an online checking account that includes a debit card which offers surcharge-free, nationwide ATM service at more than 32,000 Allpoint banking machines. In addition, it plans to open two more local bank branches by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Buran is pleased with the synergies developed amongst the various business lines, and believes the progress that the bank has made is only the tip of the iceberg. “As reflected in our 2008 first quarter results, we are just beginning to reap the benefits of those synergies,” Buran said.
