Spotlight On:
Sam Miles, First Senior Vice President, Central Florida Regional President, Valley Bank

Spotlight On:
Sam Miles, First Senior Vice President, Central Florida Regional President, Valley Bank

2022-07-13T07:45:59-04:00November 20th, 2019|Banking & Finance, Economy, Insights, Orlando, Spotlight On|

By: Yolanda Rivas

2 min read November 2019 — Central Florida’s economic growth has driven many financial institutions to rebrand and adjust to the latest innovations and client needs. That is the case of Valley Bank. In a discussion with Invest:, First Senior Vice President Sam Miles, who oversees the regional bank’s Orlando and Jacksonville markets, addressed trending business areas for the bank, the impact of its Professionals Group and the bank’s branch rebranding effort. 

Which of the bank’s lending areas are seeing the most demand?

Our largest piece of business revolves around commercial real estate financing. There is a significant amount of capital being invested in real estate in Central Florida. As an example, there are 38 new multifamily projects either under construction or in the planning stages that represent $1.7 billion in investment. That growth, combined with strong employment, is creating high demand for residential developments, and we are very active in multifamily construction lending. In the last year, we also expanded our SBA team to help address the small-business lending market in Orlando. We have a full array of professionals in place with expertise in residential lending and SBA lending to complement our commercial real estate and C&I teams.

What are your expectations for the relaunched Professionals Group? 

With the relaunching of the Professionals Group we’re trying to reach an affluent population that we haven’t specifically targeted previously. The Professionals Group is a team of commercial lenders dedicated to customizing products and services for any 

group of professionals, including doctors, attorneys, accountants and centers of influence operating throughout our bank’s footprint. It can be a wonderful source of referrals and, by establishing relationships with these professional groups, we will be able to drive new business.

How is Valley Bank improving customer experience? 

We are in the process of rebranding and redeveloping our branches to make them more user friendly. Clients will no longer have the traditional walk-in when they visit our branches. We are providing a modern feel with a warm and welcoming setting. Each branch that we are building now is going to have that model. We are also refurbishing existing branches to fit a more modern and welcoming environment. These new branches fit the trend of people wanting a different, fast-paced environment. 

How does Valley Bank give back to the Orlando community? 

We’ve played a big part in LIFT Orlando, and the redevelopment of the West Lakes area. We have been heavily involved in financing the projects there that are revitalizing that community. That is a wonderful community effort and we’re proud to play a part in it. Our team also spends a lot of time in the community with local groups such as The Ronald McDonald House, Second Harvest Food Bank and The Coalition for the Homeless. We provide paid days off to encourage our employees to volunteer and give back to the communities where we serve. 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit:

Valley Bank: https://www.valley.com/

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