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48 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m James R. Barger, KeyBank Continued from Page 7 O N T H E R E C O R D | Q & A Examples? Such as automating their payables and invoicing process. Automating their receivables. ese are capabil- ities we acquired through minority investments in fin-tech companies. We are marketing those to our com- mercial clients in the [Connecticut] market very successfully. We are also very aggressively focused on growth. We are out there pounding the pavement letting people know we are open for business. We have a very aggressive growth culture. Your said your commercial-banking sweet spot is the middle market. Define? We actually have three commer- cial banking groups. We have our business banking group, which has eight commercial bankers in Con- necticut and is run by [SVP and Business Banking Team Leader] Al- lison Standish-Plimpton. e [an- nual] revenues [of its client base] go up to $25 million. en in commer- cial banking, we start at $25 million and go up from there. We also have industry-focused corporate bankers who are SEC-licensed who are not geographically [focused]; they are industry-focused. ese are the corporate/investment bankers and they will have relationships with the largest corporate clients all over the country. We have bankers focused on industrial companies; bankers focused on tech companies; bank- ers focused on health-care [compa- nies]. So those bankers are focused on companies in Connecticut with annual revenues of $25 million to a couple billion [dollars]. And companies smaller than $25 million in annual revenues? We have another layer, small-business banking, which is really a retail function. Our branches do commercial loans to small businesses. Oen these are retail stores, small businesses, [sole] proprietorships. Small-business lending at this level is handled out of the retail branches. Yesterday I was in a single-location retail store in Westville, and the proprietor is thinking of opening a second store in Branford. Right now he probably does $1 million to $2 million in annual sales. So you're telling me he wouldn't be laughed out the door at KeyBank? No. I just visited out Branford Green branch last Friday and I vis- ited them last Friday and met all the folks there. Very successful branch. e next day I got my hair cut at a shop on the Branford Green, told the barber I was just moving into town. He asked me where I worked, and I told him KeyBank. He said, 'I love KeyBank!' Turns out we do commercial business [banking] for him. at's an example of our small-business lending. So if your example is opening a second store, our Branford Green [KeyBank] branch would finance that. Another group that I'm sure you've been hearing from are the individuals and non-profit organizations that do good deeds in this town. What can and do you tell them to assure them KeyBank will continue to do many of the good works that were the hallmark of your predecessor bank, New Haven Savings Bank? I love that part of my job — and that is part of my role as market president. I am the primary face of Key in the community and Key meeting the community's needs. KeyBank did $1.2 million in philan- thropic [direct and in-kind] giving in 2018, so we are a major supporter of the community. One of my roles as market president is to identify what the needs of the community are, and to approach [that function] in a way that's as beneficial to the community as I can. Supporting me in that role is Lakisha Jordan, who is our corporate responsibility officer. KeyBank will continue to support the market, and I'm here to ensure that happens. n

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