BANKER Q&A
THE
MILLENNIAL MINUTE with Marliz Murguia Loan Officer Southern Bancorp Bank, Glenwood, AR
WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A BANKER? This decision was one that, in a way, fell in my lap. I studied accounting at Henderson State University intending to use my degree to become an accountant/CPA. However, days before graduating, a banker from my hometown called me and explained the need for a banker that would see to the specific needs of our community. This piqued my interest and appealed to my love for my hometown community. I grew up, attended kindergarten through high school, and became who I am, in this community. At first, I was skeptical as to how I could apply my recently acquired accounting knowledge to the world of banking, but that is when this banker explained to me that banking was not only a necessity in a town’s economy, but it is also a way to serve the community. Banks are needed to help community members achieve their financial dreams and goals. Knowing that I was going to be able to serve and give back to the town that had given me so much, made me realize and accept that this was the career for me.
WHAT CAN BANKS DO TO BETTER APPEAL TO MILLENNIALS – IN THE WORKFORCE AND AS CUSTOMERS? In terms of the workforce and millennials, I believe efficiency should be a priority. Although the idea that millennials like things fast (fast Wi-Fi, fast food, etc.) has become a sort of cliché, the fact remains that millennials enjoy when things work the way they are meant to without too many hindrances. In this day and age, when millennials are flooding the workforce, banks have a responsibility to take on this new generation of people that demand quality while at the same time expecting efficiency, and apply their strengths and characteristics for the good of the company and our customers. Regarding millennial customers, there is the obvious observation that millennials enjoy a strong media presence from the services they use. This generation enjoys some of the aforementioned efficiency to also be reflected in the mobile apps they use. If we go beyond these frequently mentioned suggestions, I believe that millennials most respond to an experience. Millennials are interested in aesthetics and appreciate when a bank not only provides a service but works hard to create an experience for them. 16
•
FALL 2021
WHAT CIVIC PROJECT HAS YOUR BANK PARTICIPATED IN THAT TOUCHED YOU THE MOST? Southern Bancorp thinks differently than most banks. We offer a variety of projects and services that help equip individuals, families and communities to grow financially stronger. It is this ideal that first attracted me to Southern Bancorp and has allowed me the opportunity, time and again, to serve my community. Southern goes beyond only being a bank and strives to develop the region in which they serve, “regardless of zip code.” One of my favorite community projects is the School Savings Project. This project consists of Southern Bancorp visiting schools throughout our community once a week to educate students concerning the importance of savings. Having learned this lesson at an early age myself, I remember practicing this principle as a young girl and I believe that it set the foundation for my financial habits now as an adult. This project, besides serving our area in the present, has the potential to influence and affect our area's citizens well into the future.
WHAT MOVIE CHARACTER ARE YOU MOST SIMILAR TO? I would say I most relate to Anne Hathaway’s character Andrea Sachs in the Devil Wears Prada. Besides the obvious fashion elements in this movie and my love for the same, it also features many similarities to my own life. In this film her character enters a field for which she is not perfectly equipped, however through hard work and excellent mentoring from Stanley Tucci’s character “Nigel,” she rises to the occasion and assumes the role. Taking on the responsibility of being a loan officer for Southern Bancorp was daunting at first and required a great deal of effort to learn the role and attempt to fulfill it at the highest level. However, just as Andrea, through hard work and mentoring from other Southern Bancorp loan officers such as Ki Hartsfield, I feel as though I am taking on the role and making it my own. Southern Bancorp has an amazing pool of talented and passionate people and it is my privilege to be among them.
