MAHONING VALLEY Private banking caters to upscale clients

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
Too busy making money to go to the bank? Private banking may be the answer.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Doctors who make house calls, grocery stores that deliver -- both are remnants of a bygone era.
If you've got money, though, you won't have trouble finding a bank to do both.
Private bankers, as they're commonly called in the industry, are fast becoming an important draw for banks looking for ways to keep their very best customers happy.
They cater to high-income, high net-worth clients who can be ideal candidates for a variety of banking services. The private banker's job is to make it quick, easy and convenient for wealthy customers to access the services they need.
"We're working with a very select group of people who don't have a lot of time for banking chores," explained Diana Hogg, a vice president and team leader of the Private Client Group at National City Bank, Youngstown. "These are busy people who want to spend their time doing what they do best."
Started in 1994: National City hired Hogg in 1994 to establish private banking in its Youngstown market, and the department has been growing steadily ever since. National City's Private Investment Advisors department here includes investment management, financial consulting, trust services and a brokerage in addition to private banking.
With a private banking staff of 19, she said, National City has more than 1,300 private banking clients locally, most of whom meet the criteria of $150,000 a year in income and $500,000 or more in net worth.
Like most private banking departments, National City also enrolls people who fit into the "emerging affluent" class, such as new doctors, lawyers, and business entrepreneurs with promising futures.
Despite the Valley's economic troubles, Hogg said there are more than enough successful small-business owners and professionals in the legal, medical and financial fields to keep the private banking business thriving.
Second National: Private banking is nothing new for Second National Bank of Warren. The bank was one of the area's first to add private banking in the mid-1980s.
Second National's eight-person private banking staff works under the supervision of Sherry Sharon, vice president and manager of private banking, with the support of the bank's trust department, its investment center and other bank services.
Most of its private banking staff is based at Second National's headquarters in Warren, but the bank also has private bankers at its Tippecanoe office in Canfield, its Solon office and its Greene Township office.
Darryl Mast, senior vice president of retail banking at Second National, said private banking staff members make themselves available to its customers "round-the-clock."
"We've closed loans in airports with clients who are changing planes," Mast said with a chuckle. "We've delivered documents to be signed outside hospital operating rooms. It's an above-and-beyond kind of service."
Establishing relationship: Keith Sanders, an assistant vice president with National City's Private Client Group, said the first step in setting up a private banking relationship is generally a face-to-face meeting in the client's home, office, or at the bank, to determine the customer's needs, goals and problems.
Once a relationship is established, however, many prefer to keep meetings to a minimum and transact their business with a simple phone call or e-mail.
Bank One is another financial institution providing private banking services locally. Mike Helon, vice president of private banking, said Bank One's Private Client Services here include an investment management division, a trust division and a private banking division.
Private Client Services target clients with a net worth of at least $1 million and household incomes of $250,000 a year, and Helon said there are plenty of candidates in the Mahoning-Trumbull-Columbiana county region.
"We've been very successful and we continue to grow every day," he said.
Sophisticated needs: Helon pointed out that private bankers try to fulfill all their clients' financial requirements, from setting up basic savings and checking accounts to complex trust and estate planning and charitable-giving strategies.
"A lot of experience is required," he said. "Private banking clients have some pretty sophisticated financial needs."
Helon is a 10-year veteran of Bank One, and the private banking staff has a combined experience of more than 30 years.
Kim Simons, a private banking officer at National City, agreed that the position requires an extensive knowledge of all phases of the banking industry. For her, a business degree from St. Mary's College was just the beginning in training for a position with the Private Client Group.
The Boardman native went through the bank's three-year management training program and served as a teller, a head teller and a branch manager before moving into her current position.
Simons said one of her biggest paybacks in working with private banking clients is getting to hear their how they achieved success.
"There are people who started with nothing and built a successful company and others who run family businesses that have survived 100 years or longer," she said. "I've heard some amazing stories."