A FAB Summer

Things were looking pretty dim on the internship front for a while there, but as luck and some shameless networking and lobbying with professors would have it, I managed to secure an incredible internship for the summer.

Exams finished on May 8th and my job started on the 11th. My position was/is with First American Bank & Trust in Athens – founded in 1928 and family owned to this day. It’s a community bank with very much a family feel headquartered in a gorgeous historic building downtown. At First American Bank (FAB, get it?) I’ve really been empowered to take my ideas and run with them. What was so fantastic to me about working at a community bank was that it was flexible, none of that corporate red-tape, but yet, still highly regulated with procedure and protocol. With some guidance from my superiors I was able to craft an internship that suited my interests and experience.

I dabbled in some market research, soaked up everything I could about the banking industry, and examined the bank from top to bottom. The beauty of bank marketing is that you really do have to get creative. Banking is so commoditized that differentiating your institution is crucial, and that’s essentially what I’ve been working on this summer, finding our unique and valuable differentiator. One of my favorite resources that I found was this blog Financial Brand. Even if you have no interest in banking, these articles are fantastic.

The most remarkable thing that I’ve witnessed during my summer at First American is the interaction of employees with customers. Three times in less than three months, one of our CSR’s got flowers from different customers she had helped. Another customer brought in homemade baked goods for the branch manager the day after she’d helped her with a transaction. The employees know the customers’ names, children, histories, etc.

In addition to superior customer service, our bank has weathered the financial storm exceptionally well. In fact, just last month we entered into an assumption agreement with the FDIC to purchase the assets of First Piedmont Bank in Monroe and Winder, Georgia.

During the school year I’m going to continue to work with First American, implementing some plans I proposed including leading a customer and non-customer survey and implementing some website updates. Although I’ll still be involved with First American, I can assure you that my glowing comments are not compensation-inspired flattery, just honest observation.
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