Primis Bank: Delivering Value Through Unrivaled Solutions, Technology, Innovation and Close Customer Relationships
In this Spotlight on Community Banks article, we spoke with Dennis Zember, President and Chief Executive Officer, of Primis Financial Corp. Dennis discusses how Primis is leveraging technology to meet the evolving needs of its customers and its unwavering commitment to the communities it services.
Primis Financial Corp., headquartered in McLean, Virginia is the holding company for Primis Bank, a state-chartered bank headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia. As of December 31, 2022, Primis Financial Corp. had $3.57 billion in total assets, $2.95 billion in total loans and $2.72 billion in total deposits. Primis Bank, the Company's banking subsidiary, provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses through thirty-two full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland and through certain internet and mobile applications. Primis Financial Corporation has been listed on Nasdaq since 2006 trading under the symbol “FRST”.
How has your mission evolved over the last few years?
Our rebrand to Primis in 2021 was the start of our bank’s transformation. We launched a mission to grow an unmatched team of highly skilled experts, motivated to deliver value through unrivaled solutions, technology, innovation and close customer relationships. We started from scratch creating a corporate culture, and now we are a better company focused on diversity, community involvement, and the recruitment and development of talent for the future. Our mission and vision remain steady: we will do better and be more exceptional than our competition. This won’t change and becomes more in focus each day as we evolve our technology, expand our innovation and creativity and nurture a strong team of incredible talent.
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’re tech-forward, and community involvement is the way we humanize our company. When you prioritize technology to create a better way for customers to bank electronically, a common misconception is that the financial institution is run by bots. Our community involvement showcases how that is far from the truth for Primis. In fact, our community-focused, customer-centric commitment is unwavering.
We see a need to do good and to do better. We prioritize our community support through three focus areas: empowering women and girls, advancing STEM opportunities for women and minorities and sharpening minds for all generations.
Launched in 2021, our flagship program, Primis Works, empowers single mothers by providing a life-changing opportunity to establish and grow meaningful careers. This four-month experience offers full benefits, paid childcare, and combines classroom education, mentorship, personal and professional development and extensive job training. We continue to expand and enhance this program, graduating two classes of associates each year. In September 2023, Primis Works gained industry attention receiving the Innovation Incentive Award, an ABA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion award.
Primis has partnered with the Commonwealth’s Attorney of Henrico County to develop a joint curriculum educating seniors and caretakers on ways they can recognize and protect against elder financial abuse. Launching in Q2 2023, this curriculum will be shared across the bank’s footprint and beyond via seminars, webinars and conferences.
In September 2023, Primis kicked off its 1st STEM Pursuit Challenge. Partnering with Virginia State University, a renowned HBCU, and Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, students are paired with Primis IT leaders to solve unique business issues that need a business IT solution. The teams will compete in November, presenting to panel of judges, with scholarships awarded to the winning team.
What’s been the biggest surprise during your nearly 17 years as a publicly traded company?
In the early days as a publicly traded company, we operated in such a tight geographical area that we knew what compelled our customers because we engaged with them through the traditional ways: business activities, community support, social engagements, religious and school affiliations. In 2022, we launched our new digital platform, and in early 2023 it exceeded our expectations with enormous market adoption.
We bank thousands of customers nationwide, in all 50 states and DC, and recently received (along with Fiserv) International Data Corporation’s 2023 Real Results Award in the Deposit Transformation category for the build of our digital bank platform. What surprised us the most was not the incredible growth, we knew we had the progressive technology and an attractive product offering, the surprise came when we learned what resonated most with these new digital customers, our philanthropic, community and social commitment and support.
All too often, publicly traded companies lose themselves by just trying to get financial results. Over time, they convince themselves that there is no intersection of financial results and doing good for the community around them. As we’ve matured, we’ve also become more progressive. We’ve learned that we can and must do good, and in doing so we are actually promoting and driving financial results.
Who is the ideal Primis customer?
The ideal Primis customers are individuals and businesses who are more apt to choose technology and use it in a more forward way. We use technology to have a competitive advantage, but what truly differentiates us and attracts our ideal customer is our ability to leverage that technology to meet the customer where they want to bank and deliver a personable and personalized experience.
How do you build customer loyalty?
Creating loyal customers begins with a loyal team. The needs of all stakeholders are connected. Building a team of high-performers and taking care of them ensure that our customers are taken care of. We are structured to keep human interaction in the forefront, even for our digital platform customers who want it. This surprises many of our customers who bank with us digitally, because they don’t expect human outreach, but we are focused on surprising our customers with the unexpected. We have bankers available around the clock ready to help over the phone, chat and email. We don’t believe in fees, we believe in growing our customer’s financial health, and we will always do what is right. We do things differently, which creates trust and builds loyalty.
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About Dennis Zember: President and Chief Executive Officer
After graduating from college, Dennis was a public accountant and then worked in the private sector for ten years before landing at Ameris Bank. He initially served as CFO before becoming CEO, helping to take the bank from $1 billion to nearly $17 billion in total assets. In that successful span, Dennis led the company in dozens of acquisitions, strategic development and leadership concepts that drove the company's ability to quickly integrate acquired organizations or develop new ideas rapidly into needle movers.
As CEO, Dennis is very aware of the company's culture and its impact on attracting and retaining the champions that regularly impress our customers. He’s known for encouraging leaders to pour themselves into their teams, finding personal, professional and financial successes for their staff that change their lives. So many times we hear teammates say that this is the energetic and electric organization they dreamed of, and Dennis views that as the ultimate compliment. Dennis knows his employees personally and regularly surprises them with questions about children, grandchildren, spouses, or even pets. His leadership philosophy centers on something he regularly tells those around him. "As a leader, we can make people follow us. Or we can make them WANT to follow us."
As President and CEO at Primis, Dennis continues to push for progress, innovation and a culture that embraces thinking differently and standing out from the sea of sameness. When he’s not hard at work growing the bottom line and making bold moves, you’ll find Dennis hard at play: dominating long distance races, fishing for days and spending time with family.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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Michael Spector
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Michael is responsible for managing relationships with Nasdaq listed companies in the South Central and South Western U.S.
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