3 min read January 2023 — In an interview with Invest:, Darrel German, Minnesota regional president of Huntington National Bank, discussed the bank’s commitment to being a go-to bank and serving the community’s needs. “We are a people-first organization and we pride ourselves on bringing a white-glove approach to the region and being there for our clients when they need us,” German said.
What have been some of the highlights and milestones for Huntington National Bank over the past 12 months?
It has been a journey. Since Huntington entered the Minneapolis market, we have been on a mission to grow in the region and support key businesses. When I joined as regional president, our initial mission was to build the middle market but that soon expanded to focus on all of our lines of business. We’ve attracted top-tier talent from other organizations for our middle market and business banking platform and from there, we’ve started growing our private bank and have continued to increase our local presence. We have over two dozen new employees in our private bank space and over 20 new employees in our business banking space. We are a people-first organization, and we pride ourselves on bringing a white-glove approach to the region and being there for our clients when they need us.
What do you see as the key for Huntington National Bank success today?
We are fortunate to be part of an institution that has been around for over 150 years, but we also know we can never rest on our laurels. We’ve seen the economy go through expansions and contractions. But Huntington’s key to success is that we are forward-thinking and always look ahead for ways to be the very best. This allows us to position ourselves to deal with any potential headwinds. We are proactive and we add value to our clients whenever they face challenges.
What have been some of the biggest shifts in demand?
Huntington’s business banking group is blowing the doors off. We are the No. 1 SBA lender, by volume, in the country. Additionally, we are focused on the full business life cycle, where we catch businesses early as they graduate from various stages ranging from small, middle-market, and middle-corporation to large corporations. We have a focus on aligning our businesses with the needs and opportunities of the community. Our colleagues get direct feedback from our prospects and clients and we react to that. Something I love about our organization is that we are not challenged by a chain of command. Our CEO is a servant leader, and he is in the market often, so we can react quickly. We see opportunities to lean in.
How is Huntington National Bank incorporating technological innovations and what do you see as key trends going forward?
We make significant investments into technology and we try to stay ahead of the curve on what is important to our customers. When Huntington entered the Minnesota market, we decided that the Twin Cities market would be one of our technology hubs. We are committed to technology across the board, and we’re always adding new digital services to meet the needs of customers in different stages of their financial lives and their business growth. For example, we recently launched a new business-to-consumer payment solution called ChoicePay(SM) that we acquired by purchasing a fintech company called Torana. Our mobile app was also ranked #1 among regional banks by J.D. Power, for the fourth year in a row.
What are some of the initiatives Huntington National Bank has in place to give back to the community?
Huntington rolled out an aggressive, corporate-wide $40 billion community plan that is focused on four key areas: social equity, community development, affordable housing and small businesses. To address some of the equity challenges impacting this region, we held a DEI summit and convened leaders and CEOs across the Twin Cities. As a result, we decided to focus our support on Black businesses because they have the greatest disparity in the region from a median-income standpoint. We partnered with the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce to help drive equity with a positive impact on Black businesses. My leadership team is also involved in several not-for-profit organizations that drive community progress across the region.
Is there anything on a legislative or regulatory agenda that might impact the banking industry?
Banking regulations are always evolving, especially as administrations change and new technologies emerge. Our goal is always to move our business forward and help all of our customers succeed while complying with the regulatory environment. At a local level, I was recently elected chair of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, and a major part of our focus is public policy. We have a policy team to help local businesses understand what is happening with business regulations at the local, state, and federal level, and to make sure we support our customers and colleagues.
What is your outlook for the banking industry in the near term?
I think it’s clear that the banking industry is changing pretty rapidly, and banks need to be nimble and customer-focused in order to succeed in the marketplace. There is a void in this marketplace and we believe Huntington can fill that void and add value every day to our entire region. That keeps us up at night; we want to be the best and we understand that people are in need across all spectrums. We want to be a provider whose clients can say, “Huntington was there in my hour of need.”
Here in Minnesota, we are in expansion mode, which gives us a lot of opportunities to do great things for our consumer and business banking customers. We really want to have a positive effect on the people we serve. I see Huntington as the go-to organization that is there to help all of our customers.
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