Flushing Financial Corp: Prioritizing Community Involvement and Promising Rewarding Relationships
In this Spotlight on Community Banks article, we spoke with John Buran, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Flushing Financial Corp. John discusses the importance of operating with a community-first mindset.
Flushing Financial Corporation is the holding company for Flushing Bank®, an FDIC insured, New York State-chartered commercial bank that operates banking offices in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island.
The Bank has been building relationships with families, business owners and communities since 1929. Today, it offers the products, services, and conveniences associated with large commercial banks, including a full complement of deposit, loan, equipment finance and cash management services.
Rewarding customers with personalized attention and bankers that can communicate in the languages prevalent within these multicultural markets is what makes the Flushing Financial unique. As an Equal Housing Lender and leader in real estate lending, the Bank’s experienced lending teams create mortgage solutions for real estate owners and property managers both within and outside the New York City metropolitan area. The Bank also fosters relationships with consumers nationwide through its online banking division with the iGObanking® and BankPurely® brands.
Flushing Financial Corporation has been listed on Nasdaq since 1995 trading under the symbol “FFIC”.
How has your mission evolved over the last 90+ years?
Our mission today is the same as it’s been since 1929, to help families, business owners and our communities grow and prosper. This is embodied by our brand promise of rewarding relationships, a pledge to continue to build strong relationships with customers, communities, employees, investors and regulators. We live this brand promise every day. You might find our teams hosting a celebration for a customer’s 100th birthday or participating in a race at the Dragon Boat festival we have sponsored for 11 years (and counting) in support of our local communities. And we are always ready to support our customers in their time of need through tailored underwriting standards and quick loan closing times, exemplifying our tagline of, “Small enough to know you. Large enough to help you.”
Of course, the banking industry at large and our business have changed a great deal since 1929. As we’ve adapted to the changing environment by introducing new practices, technologies, and solutions, we’ve done so with a focus on rewarding relationships, building ties to our community and fostering long-standing customer relationships. We believe that remaining true to the core values and mission upon which Flushing Financial was built has allowed us to continue to succeed in the evolving banking industry over the last century.
How important is community involvement for a regional bank? What are some of the ways you’re working to better the communities you serve?
We believe that community involvement is crucial for a regional bank. Without it, there would be nothing differentiating us from our larger national competitors. Customers come to regional banks because we can foster personal relationships and develop a deeper understanding of their wants, needs and what is best for them. To attract and retain customers, building the trust of our communities is essential. Not only do our teams live and work in these communities, we also regularly participate in and support community events, including Dragon Boat Race Festivals, Lunar New Year Parades and Brooklyn’s Cinderella Project. Our goal is to be a driver of positive and long-lasting change, to help our communities flourish.
The best way for us to serve our communities is to start by serving our customers. We take pride in supporting families to build a strong financial foundation for the future, helping community members live their dreams by starting a new business and providing the resources necessary for businesses and local governments to invest in creating new opportunities. We know that regional banks are only as strong as our customers and communities. We believe that the best approach is to focus on ensuring that we are succeeding together.
What, in your view, are the defining characteristics of a strong community bank?
At a high level, we’ve found that the most important quality in a regional bank is to always prioritize your involvement with the community and make sure you’re listening to your customers.
While we offer the same technologies and capabilities that can be found at large commercial banks, we differentiate ourselves from the competition with the personalized attention we pay to our local customers. That means that in addition to investing in our technologies and financial tools, we are also investing in our employees, who are the key to our success. Our customers choose us because they can put a familiar face to our company name, and they know they can trust us.
Who is the ideal Flushing Bank customer? How do you build customer loyalty?
The ideal Flushing Bank customer is anyone from our communities who is looking to grow with us, whether that be with a personal savings account, financial advisory or a small business loan. At every level of our business, it’s essential to our mutual success that we are able to understand our customers as much as possible. This allows us to chart the best paths for every single customer we work with. Our favorite customers are the ones we know best, and in turn, the ones who know us best. This deep understanding makes it easier for us to help them achieve their goals, and more likely that they will continue to come to us for all their financial needs.
We build customer loyalty by having a dialogue with our customers instead of simply providing them with advice. It’s important for us to learn about our customers as we build a relationship and truly internalize their feedback to better serve them. This all comes down to our outstanding teams on the ground. They are the ones who help us foster loyalty and grow our relationships with customers year after year.
Connect with Flushing Bank:
About John Buran:
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director
John R. Buran is President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Company and the Bank. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank since July 2005. He has been a Director of the Company and the Bank since 2003. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Bank from January 2001 until June 2005. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Buran held a variety of positions within the Banking industry, including Executive Vice President of the New York Metro Division of Fleet Bank and Vice President New York Investment Sales at Citibank. He is a former Chairman of the Board and current director of the New York Bankers Association. In 2017 he was elected Chairman of the Board of The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York where he has served as a director since 2010. He is a former Director of the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority where he served for eight years.
Michael Spector
Nasdaq
Michael is responsible for managing relationships with Nasdaq listed companies in the South Central and South Western U.S.
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