Growin' Up Gregory

Today, September 1st, marks fifteen years for me at Arthur State Bank. It's crazy to think about how much has changed in my personal and professional life over that time span. I've gone from a single guy whose start date was chosen because some friends and I were going to Vegas after my interview to a married man with 3 kids - none of which came from the Vegas trip LOL. I have to be honest in saying that I truly had no idea what I was getting into even when I applied for a position at Arthur State Bank, and I told them as much. When asked why I wanted to get into banking, I literally answered, "I don't know, I just heard it's a good career to get into." Looking back, I have to ask myself, "How in the world did you get this job? Why did they hire you? What were they thinking?" A year or so ago, our bank President did make the comment in jest (at least I hope he was joking) that once I said that he knew that I was a blank slate that he could work on. B...

We have all had very different experiences in life.  These seem to have been magnified over the past 4-6 weeks with everything going on in the world.  The threat of COVID and the impact of the CARES act has hit each of us very differently.  I just want to share some of my thoughts from my point of view.  Your may certainly be different if you've seen it from a different angle.  This is merely from my vantage point. COVID-19 Fear Factor One of my biggest concerns with the Coronavirus and COVID-19 is the way people have let themselves, and their whole lives, be taken over and consumed by fear.  Based on yesterday's SC DHEC statistics, there have been 38,833 tests administered with 4,246 positive results.  That is a 10.9% positive test return.  Now, I do not know the typical percentage of positive test for season flu, strep throat, and other 'regular' viruses, but a near 90% negative return rate seems illogical.  If this data is available...

In this month's edition of Independent Banker, ICBA Chairman, Preston Kennedy shared his top three concerns facing community banks. The Federal Reserve's role in real-time payments. Housing finance reform. Credit union poaching of community banks. Below, allow me to interpret this from banker talk into a more understandable and applicable version of how it may affect your financial life. First, from CFO.com - "In a long-awaited move to speed up the U.S. payment system, the Federal Reserve has announced it will develop a real-time service that would eventually link more than 10,000 banks and credit unions across the country." It appears that for the next 4-5 years, small banks won't be playing on a level field with the big boys as there will likely be a tiered system of payment processing from the Fed. This won't affect most people's daily activities as transactions continue to increase in speed.  Just realize that the smaller companies and com...

My job, like most everyone else's, can be frustrating at times.  I have friends, clients, or random potential customers who contact me about a financing need or a loan product that they've heard about through some ad on the radio, online, or on TV.  Sometimes, what we have to offer may be much better (or at least much simpler) and other times the larger company is simply able to offer something that a bank our size isn't equipped, capable, or willing to offer.  I like the way one of customer (and now friend) put it:  "A community bank may not be able to do everything, but they can do some things that other banks can't."  He unknowingly nailed what sets community banks (and other small businesses) apart - their ability to see more clearly what a customer wants and needs, and the willingness to customize a solution for their particular need (without all of the ridiculous corporate approvals that are sometimes required). For people who do a lot of traveling,...

The housing market seems to be heating up nationally and even in our small town.  With that being the case, I would like to share a few tips and try to offer a better understanding of the home buying and mortgage process for both seasoned and 1st time home-buyers alike from someone's perspective who has sat on both sides of the desk as a loan officer and consumer.  Hopefully, these tips will help make your home buying process go as smooth as possible. 1.  Know YOUR budget.  Yes, the bank can tell you what you qualify for based on credit and debt ratios.  But only you know your spending habits.  Are you ready to commit to a house payment, insurance, taxes, improvements, and repairs?  Or do you want more freedom for season tickets to your favorite team?  Or extra cash to rush off on spontaneous getaways?  Begin to think about how much money you can do without each month, how much you're paying now in rent, or how much you're saving towards a ...

As my wife would be quick to point out, I have a tendency to overcommit and say "yes" to too many things.  It seems like if I sense a moment of spare time and someone comes along and asks if I can help with this or that, then the next thing I know I'm sitting in another meeting with another group of people trying to accomplish some good.  But as any smart husband will learn to do, I have gotten better at running things by my wife before agreeing to them...most of the time. And I'm willing to bet that most people's lives are pretty similar in some aspects.  We all want to do so many things: work (or at least make money), spend time with family, spend time with friends, serve our community, enjoy hobbies, spend time with ourselves, etc. There are only so many hours in the day so how do we do it?  How do we balance work, family, friends, church, and taking of ourselves?  We don't. Have you ever balanced two kids on a see-saw?  Or looked at one of those old...

How would you feel if we were going to race in 100 yard dash (the length of a football field) and I told that I was going to get to start at the 21 yard line while you had to start at the goal line? Or what if I we were going to do 100 pushups?  Except for yep, you guessed it...I'll be starting on 21  while you start at 0. Or what if I our boss offered to pay both of us $100 for doing the exact same job.  But then he took $21 from you for taxes while I kept my entire $100. Would that seem fair?  Who do you think would win the race or pushup contest?  Who would have more money even though we both did the same job?   It seems odd to me that in this world of 'equality for all' that businesses offering services in the same field would be treated unfairly.  Now I understand competitive advantage, market share, niche business and all of that.  But for Congress to outright give one type of business which competes directly against others ...

I remember as a child my dad having me get outside on the weekends or when we weren't in school to help on projects around the house.  It may have been working on fences, something to do with the pool, or fixing one of the many broken pieces of equipment that he's owned over the years.  My part was typically just the simple stuff, following his directions step by step while we worked on that day's project.  And I honestly never realized the thought and planning that went into some of these seemingly small tasks at the time. But this weekend, we finally began doing some of the more serious landscaping at our new (1 year old) house.  Before we could start the actual work, Britt and I had to decide where flower beds were going to be, where the walkway would be, which bushes and flowers to buy, what kinds of stones, etc.  There were a ton of decisions to make before we ever even got dirty. Next came the calculating and buying step.  We had to figure out how...

I count myself one of the lucky ones.  I have been given an opportunity in my life to grow up in a great town, get an education both locally and in a neighboring small town, and then be given an opportunity to pursue a rewarding career in my hometown.  Yes, I consider being "stuck" or "left behind" in Union to make me lucky. Nearly 13 years ago, a local company took a chance and hired a 22 year old kid not long out of college with no experience who was looking for a job primarily because I was too lazy and unmotivated to go back to school to become an accountant.  When asked why I wanted to get into banking my response was literally this, "I don't know, I just heard it's a good career to get into."  Looking back, I don't even think there was a need for the position I was hired into, but for whatever reason it happened.  And I believe that it has worked out well for both the company I work with and myself. My message to young people, and pot...

I'm a numbers person and have been for as long as I can remember.  I've often said that 2 + 2 = 4 every day that we went to math, but in English class, people could interpret the same book or poem in a different way and both be right.  That often confused me so I liked sticking with my good ole trusty numbers which could be why I ended up working in banking. Numbers are important, but sometimes we have to look beyond the numbers.  I am absolutely blessed to work where I do.  The company I work for, like many during the recession, had some trying times and fortunately the memories (hopefully not the lessons) of those trying times are slowly fading away.  During those years, our management team had to focus a great deal on the numbers.  But they never lost sight of what truly matters to the operations of a business, its employees.  Yes, numbers were tight, raises were non-existent for a time, and stress levels were high.  But there was and st...