Jay Fant is the latest successor to the role of CEO and president at First Guaranty Bank & Trust Company. It was founded in 1947 by Fant’s grandfather.
IS HIS FATHER STILL INVOLVED AT THE BANK?
“He [Julian “Hickory” Fant Jr.] retained his role as chairman. Dad still comes in every day. He’s great with the clients.”
WHY TAKE CHARGE NOW?
“We talked about when was the right time. I was involved in so many things. He felt it was time to give me the moniker to recognize my level of responsibility.”
HOW WILL HIS JOB BE DIFFERENT?
“My duties won’t change much. For the last couple of years, I’ve been running the company from an operational standpoint. After the COO passed away, I was put in charge of operations and revenue. The profit centers report to me. My new title more accurately reflects what I’ve been doing. What I get now is more public recognition, whatever that means.”
WHAT CHANGES WILL HE MAKE?
“I’m not going to do much different. I’m not one of those guys that say, ‘There’s a new sheriff in town and here’s how it’s going to be.’ Our goal is to be extremely consistent in our service. What we have to finish doing is adding a few more branches around the county so that, reasonably, our customers have more access to our facilities.”
HOW MANY LOCATIONS?
Seven: two in Riverside and one in Argyle, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Ortega, Baymeadows and Mandarin.
WHAT IS HIS NICHE?
“We have a couple different pieces to our business. One is business banking. Clearly, there are a lot of businesses in Jacksonville that need to expand or borrow money. We also have a private banking component which includes trusts and investment services.”
HOW HAS THE INDUSTRY CHANGED?
“Merger mania has quieted down. The mega-banks are now trying to stabilize their businesses. If you went back 20 years ago, every bank in the city was local. Now only about 15 percent or the market, or less, is a Jacksonville bank. The other 85 percent are out-of-town regionals. That creates different business models. Big banks, with their huge networks across the country and tremendous lending abilities, are certainly the banks of choice for extremely large companies. But it also leaves a lot of local banks like ours, with pretty much the same product selection, to the folks they know in town.”
WHAT IMPACT HAS DEREGULATION HAD?
“Non-banks are getting into the banking business. What we’ve seen is banks are choosing between their core business or exploring new opportunities. We’re not pioneers. Pioneers always get arrows in their backs. We see what works with the bigger banks and we follow. Wal-Mart wants to be a bank. What would the banks do in response? What would Congress allow? The landscape is still in motion.”
WHEN DID HE JOIN THE FAMILY BUSINESS?
At 14, Fant started working at the family “store” during his summer vacations, doing filing and mopping floors. While he was in college, he held various clerk positions and later worked there as a loan clerk. Once he graduated from law school, he came back again, this time to the trust department.
WHY FOLLOW HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS?
“I was so impressed with what my dad did when I was an adolescent. His aura of honor and humility was not just evident to me. I thought I couldn’t go too wrong by understanding his career. My father never pressed me to come to work here. The more I learned about the banking business, the more my interest level increased. I’m just glad they let me work here when I asked.”
WHERE DID HE GO TO SCHOOL?
Fant attended Washington and Lee University. He also has a law degree from the University of Florida.
WHY NOT BECOME AN ATTORNEY?
“It [the law] is a fantastic resource. I developed a rapport with a lot of attorneys, but I realized I was more comfortable in the traditional business atmosphere.”
TRACING THEIR ROOTS
Generations ago, the Fant family settled in Jacksonville. Their roots trace back to 1920 or earlier. Fant lives in Avondale with his wife Lauren and their two sons. A third child is on the way.
MEMBERS ONLY
Fant is a member of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville, Wise Counsel (a Christian businessmen’s group) and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
ANY HOBBIES?
“Parenting is my hobby. I’m not a skydiving-hiking-snorkeling kind of guy. My wife is the adventure-seeker. I like to read. Occasionally, I do a little jogging.”
WHAT DOES HE READ?
“I tend to pull out more of the newer Christian writings. If you inundate yourself with Wall Street all week, it will drive you crazy. You need balance there.”
WHO IS YOUR HERO?
“Other than Christ, the apostle Paul is high on my list. He used his gifts of communication and persistence to relay his important message. He was clear in his purpose, clear in his method and undistracted.”
— by Monica Tsai