National Commerce of Memphis In Deal to Offer Employee Services

Memphis-based National Bank of Commerce has formed an alliance to provide small-business customers with much of what a human resources department offers.

"Competition for quality employees gets more and more fierce," said Jim Reiniets, vice president of the $4.5 billion-asset bank, a unit of National Commerce Bancorp., Memphis. "This allows a small widget manufacturer to compete with the large corporations."

Staff Line Inc., a Memphis-based employee benefits firm, will provide payroll processing, administer workers compensation benefits, help with employment law compliance, and offer health insurance and retirement plans.

"Those burdens require more time than most small-business owners have," said Bob Jones, president and chief executive officer of Staff Line.

Though many banks have formed alliances to offer retirement plans or payroll processing, National Bank of Commerce's venture will allow it to bring a broader spectrum of services to its small-business customers, Mr. Reiniets said.

Staff Line's service will help the bank solidify relationships with customers and attract new ones, he added.

Another banking company with a similar alliance is National City Corp. of Cleveland. Its National City Bank of Columbus, Ohio, has tied with the employee benefits firm Team America Corp. to offer insurance, retirement plans, and legal services. The bank began marketing those services two weeks ago.

"A lot of our business owners are going to benefit from these services," said Anne Jennings, vice president of business services for the Columbus bank.

National Bank of Commerce has been promoting its employee benefits services in Memphis, Nashville, and in Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C. The bank plans to introduce the offerings in Virginia this summer, Mr. Reiniets said.

The bank markets the products by identifying which of its business customers might need human resources services. It then refers those names to Staff Line, Mr. Reiniets said.

Staff Line's services are typically used by owner-operated businesses such as dentists, restaurants, and small manufacturers with an average of 14 employees, Mr. Jones said.

National Bank of Commerce will collect a referral fee for each of its business customers that signs up with Staff Line. Staff Line then bills businesses directly for services used.

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