BANK
APR-MAY 2014
The C1 bank is the newest addition to Wynwood, the only bank in this art flush neighborhood of Miami. Walking through the doors of this swanky bank, feels like you’ve just stepped into New York City’s Guggenheim museum. Located in the former warehouse, Wynwood’s recent financial institution has been transformed into an awe-inspiring work of art where big vaults are cleverly hidden behind a moving bookcase and works by Andy Warhol and Keith Harring adorn the walls. Spearheading the operation of this banque d’ art is Trevor Burgess who received Florida E&Y Entrepreneur of The Year award in 2013 for his financial services. Le CITY deluxe sat down for an interview with Mr. Burgess to speak about his banking business.
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The Art of Banking
Interview with CEO of C1 Bank Trevor Burgess
Interview by Marius Koller
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buildings in Miami- one in Doral, one in Coral Gables and one in Miami Beach, which will be the next three branches for C1. On the West coast of Florida I already have 26 locations and I’m working on one in Sarasota. Our idea is not to be the biggest bank but to be the best bank for entrepreneurs.
“We are a bank by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs” Would the architecture and the design of each bank identify with each area it’s in? What I try to do is have a hub and bespoke system, so in each market I have one showpiece. The bank is Sarasota is very in tune with the historical background of the city. All the other branches are sort of an interpretation, like a Target version of Issey Miyaki designs. We have the high-brow and the crisp and the modern. Here in Wynwood, we had a gallerist form Aventura lend us the art. We exhibit Keith Harring, Andy Warhol with the theme of money and vibrancy. Where do you see the difference between your bank and big commercial banks? I think too many of the behemoth banks will return your phone call tomorrow only if you want $25 million. Other small community banks are good at dealing with loans less than a million dollars. It’s very hard to find a bank that has the sophistication and the ability to
land between 2-25 million dollars. So we’re serving a sweet spot. It’s the entrepreneur who wants to buy his own building with the need to borrow anything between 1-20 million dollars. My favorite type of loans is for business owners. I’m not a traditional banker. Last year, when we didn't have a branch yet, we had a loan production office. A temporary office space and we did $155 million in loans. But, I’m not into just selling a loan; I am about building a relationship. Is it just the loan you give or is there a dayto-day relationship an entrepreneur can have with your bank? We are full service banking. We’re open until 5pm and even on Saturdays. But it’s also all about technology. I’ve developed technology that I call C1 Bank labs where we developed a patent for our own banking technology focused on how can we be more productive while serving a client better. Our software allows you to open an account on your ipad for instance. It’s about changing how banking works. People come to this branch because it’s interesting, but they might as well do all their business with their computer. Do you have competitive rates compared to bigger branches? We are competitive since all loans are kept in house, however we are never going to be the cheapest - you get what you pay for. What does the future of C1 bank hold? I am excited about Florida as a whole. Last year the population increased by 250,000 people this years it’s 300,000 people so when you have this sort of positive demographic trend, you feel very good about growth in general
APR-MAY 2014
hy set up a bank in Wynwood? There are 300 businesses here that have no access to financial services. Hence, we converted a warehouse into a bank branch with the challenge to reflect the existing flamboyant art community. Being a bank by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs we focused our attention on art and entertainment. The space was designed to be multipurpose- a bank during the day inspired by an art setting and an entertainment place at night where we can stage our own events with a full functioning kitchen, imagine watching movie here or witnessing a runway show. Fun elements include this bookshelf to reveal our safety deposit boxes and the vault. All this makes it more fun than a typical bank. Please explain the name. What does C1 stand for? The first bank I owned was called the Community Bank of Manatee. We shortened it to community bank keeping the C and the B in our logo. We put our clients first and our community first so I always wrote it with a number 1. It’s just a simple identification of our ideals. This is the first time I’m speaking to a banker that cares so much about the community. I often tell our team we’re succeeding because we care more and we try harder. I like this idea of being more than it seems: interesting, different and exciting emulating the community around us. Where are you based? Our headquarters are in St. Petersburg, FL and I’m based there. I come to Miami once a week. We already purchased three additional
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