American Banker will honor three individuals — Thomas S. Wu, Robert A. Glassman, and William S. Stuard — as its 2007 Community Bankers of the Year.
Mr. Stuard is the president and chief executive of F&M Bank in Clarksville, Tenn.; Mr. Glassman is a co-chairman and co-founder of Wainwright Bank in Boston; and Mr. Wu is the chairman of UCBH Holdings Inc. of San Francisco.
Mr. Wu's award reflects the success the executive has had as a builder of community banking companies. UCBH is the $11 billion-asset holding company for United Commercial Bank, a leading commercial bank serving Chinese-American communities and American companies doing business in China.
Over the past 10 years United Community has grown from a small thrift into a contender for the title of largest U.S. bank targeting Chinese-Americans. It has established branches in several major metropolitan markets both here and abroad. It has 51 California branches in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Stockton, Los Angeles, and Orange County; eight branches in New York; five in the Atlanta metropolitan area; three in New England; two in the Pacific Northwest; one in Houston; and one in Hong Kong, along with representative offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen, China, and Taipei, Taiwan.
Mr. Glassman's award was inspired by Wainwright's ability to combine a core mission as a social advocate with a balance sheet that has remained pristine even in the face of a challenging credit cycle.
Founded in 1987, Wainwright is a leading socially progressive bank with assets of nearly $900 million. Over half its commercial lending portfolio is committed to community development initiatives, including homeless shelters and community health centers. Mr. Glassman, a veteran of the Vietnam War, initiated the bank's social responsibility agenda by endorsing veterans' rights. Wainwright has broadened that agenda and now is an avid supporter of gay rights.
And while many banks are struggling with credit quality, Wainwright's remains stellar. It has made $600 million of community development loans without a single chargeoff, and as of Sept. 30 it did not have single loan past due.
Mr. Stuard's honor recognizes his company's strong retail performance.
F&M has employed offbeat but powerful marketing strategies to fuel growth. Beginning with the low-cost strategy of inviting high-net-worth women to lunch, the bank has added to its roster of social event-led marketing. (The top of its new headquarters features corporate event space with a dance floor.)
In addition, F&M is preparing to introduce a reward program that allows customers to earn points for all of the business that they do with the bank — one of the few bank programs to do so. The bank also has a sophisticated program that grants "Goldcrest" customers special benefits for maintaining high balances.
The retail efforts have helped lift the 100-year-old bank's assets 27-fold, to $590 million, since it moved to its Clarksville headquarters in 1988.
The executives will be among six industry leaders honored at this year's Banker of The Year Awards gala. The others include Banker of the Year, Innovator, and Lifetime Achievement award winners. The honorees will receive their awards at the Best in Banking dinner and ceremony Nov. 29 at the Pierre Hotel in New York.
