by Carrie Resch
Staff Writer
Susan White’s business card reads “business and community development” but the Ever Bank vice president says her first responsibility is to build relationships.
Whether shepherding non-profits through the fundraising process or selling commercial clients on the bank’s mortgage business, White’s job is to find customers for the downtown bank’s ever-expanding list of services.
“Ever Bank is a diverse culture as far as the products we offer,” said White. “We have mortgage products, a mortgage company, an internet bank and a community bank.”
Diversification is the community bank’s survival strategy in a banking industry overrun with big-bank mergers. As large regional banks gobble up their mid-sized competition, the banking middle class is disappearing.
“There are no longer middle-sized banks,” said White. “They are either large, super regional banks or smaller community banks.”
Higher up on the food chain, large banks have largely absorbed their competition but the wave of mergers has increased competition among the community banks, said White. Ever Bank has responded by expanding its services.
The bank also hopes to expand its presence in Jacksonville. Ever Bank, formerly Marine Bank, will look to add additional branches to its Adams Street, San Jose Boulevard and Oceanway locations.
White has worked for banks for more than 20 years. But it was only when she came to Marine Bank six years ago that her job entailed any duties normally associated with the trade.
Prior to joining Ever Bank, White spent 15 years lobbying for Barnett Bank’s political action committee and managing assets for the bank’s trust company.
“When I came to Ever Bank, it was the first time I worked for the ‘banking part’ of the bank,” she said.
Her background in Tallahassee handshaking and backslapping came in handy when she started work with Ever Bank. She helps manage the bank’s relationships with the non-profit community.
Ever Bank’s commitment to non-profits is one of her favorite things about her job, she said.
“Ever Bank is very community minded,” she said. “We do a lot of support for non-profit organizations. Our senior management is very good about allowing our employees to volunteer on company time and do community service work.”
White has never had any trouble filling up her off-work hours. She’s a member of the Downtown Council and co-chairs a Council committee devoted to providing mentors for the A. Philip Randolph Academies of Technology. She also supports the United Way’s Rally Readers and helps out several of Ever Bank’s non-profit clients.