DALLAS, Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — For the third consecutive quarter in 2023, Dallas-based Vista Bank was named to the prestigious CB Resource’s CB Top Ten™ report. Currently, the Bank is ranked number 28 in the C-Corp: $1-5 billion total assets peer group among 608 competitors.
For over a decade, The CB Top Ten™ report has ranked community banks whose overall performance is at the top of their national peer group. Key performance indicators determine the ranking, including asset growth, net interest margin, efficiency ratio, non-interest-bearing deposits, and non-interest income. The full report is available here.
“For Vista to once again be included among the nation’s industry leaders is such an honor,” said John D. Steinmetz, Vista Bank President and Chief Executive Officer. “Consistently being named among the country’s top 5% of banks is humbling and a true testament to the quality of our team members and their dedication to providing best-in-class, concierge-level service to our valued clients.”
Despite industry challenges in 2023, Vista remained an anomaly, growing organically and responsibly while peers were retreating. As a result, year-over-year annualized loan and deposit growth finished at 30.0% and 35.6%, respectively, per the September 30, 2023, call report.
Steinmetz was quick to credit multiple strategic decisions for the growth.
In April, the bank acquired Charis Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiary Charis Bank, strengthening Vista’s deep talent bench and expanding its North Texas footprint to more growth markets.
Then, Vista launched a Financial Institutions Group for banks and credit unions led by two Texas financial industry veterans, Peter Stringer and Crystal Garcia. Before joining the Vista team, Stringer spent over two decades building the Financial Institutions Group at Texas Capital Bank into a $7 billion line of business, explaining his and Garcia’s early success.
By summer, Vista announced the opening of its premier Florida Banking Center, the first location outside Texas in its 112-year history. Palm Beach native Dan Sheehan, co-founder and former CEO of publicly traded Professional Bank, joined Vista in launching its Florida-based operations. Michael Woody, former Chief Lending Officer at Professional Bank, and six well-respected local bankers hit the market running, reporting better-than-expected revenues with strong loan-to-deposit ratios in the first six months.
Finally, in the fall of last year, Vista welcomed West Texas native and renowned Lubbock banker Paul Dannevik as Lubbock Market President. Dannevik immediately recruited two proven local bankers to the team and helped Vista acquire a peer bank’s ag portfolio.
Though a 112-year-old institution, Steinmetz, who joined the Bank in 2007 and was the first non-family member to take the helm as CEO of the company in 2014, saw Vista from a well-respected ag-based rural community bank hovering around $100 million in assets for its first century to now exceeding $2 billion. Coming off the most robust financial year in the Bank’s history, Vista reported peer-leading strong liquidity, with cash and securities representing approximately 16.3% and 7.1% of total assets, respectively, as well as robust credit metrics with non-performing assets of just 0.14% of total assets as of September 30, 2023.
Reflecting on the strong organic growth trajectory, Steinmetz noted, “It’s incredible for me to look back over the last 16 years and see that we’ve gone from renting furniture in our first Lubbock office to outgrowing office space throughout Texas and Florida. I couldn’t be any prouder of our team today, many of whom have been with me since 2007 and now round out the C-suite. That West Texas grit, tenacity, and shared sense of urgency that our entrepreneurial clients live by daily has served us well, helping us scale organically and through strategic M&A.”
