TASI Bank: Where Being a Maverick is a Cultural Fit
A lot has been written about the term “cultural fit.”?And the word “maverick” has been thrown around a lot to describe businesses and individuals. ?As often as not, however, “cultural fit” and “maverick” are not concepts that work together in an organization.
And then you have TASI Bank where mavericks are welcome and cultural fit is the ethos that revolves around providing beyond the norm service to customers.
As one might expect from a bank that is a division of Bank of Guam?, the staff is diverse, multi-lingual, and attuned to a multi-cultural environment.
TASI Bank, located in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District since 1983, prides itself with going the proverbial extra mile for customers. That attitude is part and parcel of what “cultural fit” means at the bank.
Derek Schroeder, a credit analyst, can attest to that. “What attracted me,” he says, “was that when I interviewed with the bank, they told me that they were looking for someone who would be a great teammate. And what I have found is that everyone is very authentic, committed to teamwork and to finding solutions for customers even if they don’t fit into the ‘box.’”
Having worked at a global bank in Columbus, Ohio, where out-of-the-box thinking was not encouraged, he finds TASI Bank refreshing. “People value each other and we’re all willing to put in the extra hours to get the job done,” he says, pointing to a recent loan that the Bank completed, even though the deadline was tighter than most banks would have even considered.?But TASI Bank is not most banks.
Joan Garcia, a loan support manager, echoes Schroeder’s perspective. Having worked at another financial institution for 20 years before joining TASI Bank, she points to the desire to provide a “white glove experience” to each client and treating people as human beings and not simply as a loan or transaction number.
“We get the opportunity to know customers and they get to know us,” she says. “Going beyond the norm is not an exception here. We know that it’s not simply about credit scores. We get granular with clients, and we try to make them feel like they are our only client.
Adds Jacqueline Diaz, an assistant vice president of loan support, “we’re much more hands on here and we know how to get things done by collaborating with each other.” She contrasted that experience with her previous employment at a larger international bank. “While it can be challenging when you’re new, it encourages you to learn.”
For JZ Zhang, who came to TASI Bank after 20 years at a large Texas bank, it has been a rewarding experience. “What I’m doing is a combination of all of what I’ve learned in my banking career which is cool.” And she enjoys working in an environment where she has relationships with customers who are not just accounts.
As result, she says, “we try to own a problem when one occurs. We don’t pass a customer from person to person. We are encouraged to be proactive.”
The underlying message is a clear one:?being a maverick banker is the cultural fit that TASI Bank values. And that is a key factor in the success of the Bank and the success of its customers.
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