Susser admitted the new name led to a “split decision” inside his family, where his wife and one of his three children “are incredibly committed to being low profile.” Though the company considered several other options, it ultimately concluded none packed the punch of the family name, which links the bank to the Sussers’ long history of entrepreneurship. Susser Bank's website proclaims it is “built to last, not to sell.” The rebranding was intended to reinforce that message. Susser hopes to keep the bank family-owned for at least as long as the fuel company existed. It also developed a quick-service Mexican restaurant concept, Laredo Taco Co. Under his leadership, Susser Holdings invested heavily in retail fuel distribution, building a chain of more than 630 gas station convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Susser took the helm of the family enterprise in 1998, at the bottom point of a deep regional recession. It lasted 85 years until it was sold in August 2014, after getting an offer from Energy Transfer Co. The original family business, Susser Holdings, was involved in wholesale and retail fuel distribution as well as real estate development. "They just aren’t as nimble and close to their clients as they were when they were $3 billion or $4 billion of assets … they’re walking away from middle-market clients” whose credit needs fall in the $2 million to $15 million range, he said. "They’re getting so darned big.”īut with that size comes inertia, Susser said. “There are a lot of great banks here that are so successful,” Susser said. Susser, which operates four branches in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and one in Round Rock, near Austin, faces heated competition in Texas. “We’re excited about building a company that will be multigenerational,” said Susser, who also became the bank's CEO last month. In May, the $1.4 billion-asset institution rebranded as Susser Bank. His family owns about 50% of the company, and Susser plans to keep that stake in the family. Susser led a group that acquired Affiliated July 2, 2018, and became the bank's chairman. “We saw an opportunity in a rapidly consolidating space to build a Texas-owned, Texas-based bank geared toward the middle market,” Susser said.įounded in 1959 as Affiliated Federal Credit Union, the Arlington, Texas-based organization converted to a depositor-owned thrift in 1998 and a stock-owned bank three years later. The goal is to build a presence in all of the state's major metropolitan areas. Last month, he hired a team to lead an expansion in San Antonio. Susser is positioning the institution to take advantage of the market gap he senses. And if merger-and-acquisition activity heats up - as many observers predict - it could serve to shine an even brighter spotlight on a family-owned bank led by an ownership group determined to remain independent. He is convinced the trend is creating an opening for his bank. Texas’ big established banks are feeding off the supercharged growth the state is enjoying, but it’s further distancing them from smaller clients as they add scale, Susser said.
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