AmeriFirst Bank: ‘We’re all in now’
Summer 2016
By David Zaslawsky
Photography by Robert Fouts
Everything about AmeriFirst Bank is about to change, except the name will remain the same.
There will be a new logo and that means new business cards, stationery and everything else associated with the bank. A new website has been launched and even the bank’s main branch on Vaughn Road had a lobby makeover. The makeover and ensuing promotional campaign could end up costing six figures over 18 months, bank officials said.
This is much more than creating a new look. AmeriFirst Bank President and CEO Bob Ramsey wants to change the perception. When people think about lenders, Ramsey wants them to think about AmeriFirst Bank. “We want to be on the list with the big guys,” he said. “We want to be on the list with Regions. We want to be on the list with Wells Fargo. We want to be on the list with (BBVA) Compass.”
AmeriFirst Bank City President Liz Braswell said, “Everybody wants to be a community bank. You hear that in a lot of advertising. That’s kind of overdone. We are a community bank. We’re looking for quality. We want to be a contender. For years we have been, but on a much lesser scale. We’re all in now. We’ve hired personnel. We are ready to grow. And we’re going to put everything we’ve got in it.”
The bank recently hired two experienced commercial lenders from a large bank – Will Hickman and Josh Myers – who joined AmeriFirst as vice presidents. They have a combined 30 years of experience. Their previous customers have been getting plenty of attention from five or six banks, Ramsey said.
In addition to hiring the two commercial lenders, Dawn Fain with 27 years of experience was hired as vice president of private banking and retail lending.
“We’re trying to refine our image from being a community bank from Union Springs to a bank for Central Alabama,” Ramsey said. “We want to be a player. We’re not buying new machines. We’re not buying new buildings. We’re spending money on people and support. I feel like we’ve got the best team of lenders in town.”
The makeover is being done now because AmeriFirst Bank is focusing on growth, Ramsey said. The bank had $143.4 million in assets through Dec. 31, 2015. Loans had grown from $85.4 million in 2014 to $90.4 million last year. AmeriFirst is budgeting a 6 percent loan increase this year, “but we expect to plow through that with these new guys,” Ramsey said. The bank’s profit increased from $262,000 in 2014 to $428,000 in 2015.
After the bank’s new commercial lenders have generated a healthy revenue, the bank plans to hire additional lenders, and that means adding one support person per lender. There could be four more hires over the next 18 months. AmeriFirst already grew from 38 employees to 48 the past two years.
“Our focus is commercial, small- to medium-size businesses and professionals,” Ramsey said. “Don’t get me wrong, we like retail, but that’s not our focus.”
While all of this is going on, bank personnel will also be busy converting a loan production center in Lee County to a full-service branch. There is a branch in Prattville and the home office is in Union Springs.
“Quite frankly, we don’t have any other branches on the horizon,” Ramsey said. “With electronic banking and the direction it’s taking the banking industry, I’m not sure if we’ll add any more bricks and mortar in Montgomery.”
Bank officials are working on the firm’s 100th anniversary celebration with events in Union Springs and in Montgomery most likely in the late fall.
AmeriFirst Bank Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Marsha Moffett would like the public to say: “I know that bank. I love that bank. I bank there and you need to bank there. They have great customer service. When you walk in, it’s a wonderful experience.”
