Renewing the Art of Personal Client Service

Oakworth Capital Bank finds success in focusing on people.

by Lindsay Mott Fletcher

Oakworth Capital Bank was founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2008 with its next office opening in Mobile in 2016 before subsequent offices in Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mobile location has 15 associates focusing on the core disciplines of commercial/private banking, wealth management and advisory services with a passion for personal service. Lincoln Lee Hammons, managing director (MD), market lead, (LH) and David P. McGrath, CFA, MD, wealth management, (DM) spoke with your author about why this is important and how it can shape the success of client goals.

LMF: What sets your firm apart from others in the area? Your website focuses on “personal client service.” Why is that important and what does it provide for your clients?

LH: We ask our clients what they value most about their relationship with Oakworth. They tell us it’s our people, our service and the fact that we make their financial lives easy. Our associates are the difference.

By renewing the art of client service, we’ve created an approach that not only offers a more personalized experience but challenges the status quo by imagining how a firm manages its services. We emphasize the connection with our clients and having a different understanding of what they’re asking us to do and how we can achieve their financial goals. Personal service combined with the benefits of modern technology help us to develop a more personal experience to help our clients succeed.

LMF: What are the biggest challenges you face in today’s South Alabama market, and how do you guide your clients through them?

LH: Many firms and clients are facing challenges, in particular around a tight labor market and higher interest rates. Business owners, professionals and family offices expect a banking and wealth partner that can help them navigate the current financial environment to accomplish their unique goals. At Oakworth, we get to know clients on a deeper, individual level and then surround them with a team that can advise them with customized solutions. For example, we provide thought leadership and economic insights. What we’ve seen too often is a gap between what traditional financial organizations provide and what individuals and companies need to be successful, both now and for future generations.

LMF: Has technology or Artificial Intelligence (AI) impacted your business? Do you use any specific tools or platforms to help you stay ahead of market trends?

LH: Technology (and its utilization) is at the core of our business model. Through its use, we’ve been able to leverage more efficient ways to serve clients and help them grow. Our local, personalized approach, along with technology, allows us to deliver an efficient and exceptional client experience. This feedback comes from our clients themselves. We continue to leverage existing, as well as new and emerging, technologies to deliver and enhance the client experience.

DM: The service model Oakworth provides is quite different than the standard financial institution. We’re more like a concierge bank powered through technology. This allows us to strategically place one office in each market (as opposed to multiple branches) and invest in the best associates to serve clients. Our clients enjoy relying on robust online banking features while depending on us to deliver a high-level, personal service. For example, our team often travels to meet our clients in person rather than expecting them to come to our office.

LH: AI has impacted virtually every industry; financial services is no exception. We are constantly exploring various ways to leverage AI to improve our client experience. Yet so much of what we do is dependent on our advisors and associates working with clients on a personal level. AI certainly won’t replace the personal advisory touch we have with clients.

LMF: Do you foresee any significant shifts in the investment landscape in the next three to five years, particularly in the context of inflation, interest rates or global events?

DM: We are in the middle of probably one of the most unusual business cycles of our lifetime where the consumer was actually better off after the recession that we had in 2020. People will want to look back on this cycle and assume that this is the new norm. It’s not. We’ve really only had three inflationary cycles since 1910, and it is very hard to compare the current environment to them. We’re in a different time. The market must get used to interest rates potentially being higher for longer than most investors are used to, and we have to have open mind about what interest rates are going to do. The potential is that inflation becomes a little stickier than we would like to see.

It’s going to make the next couple of years very unique talking with business owners or those with investment accounts: How do we allocate between stocks and bonds? What effect will the debt have on interest rates? We walk through all of this with our clients to understand their income needs and risk tolerance and develop a strategy that makes sense for their situation considering this unusual environment.

LMF: What role does your firm play in the local community?

LH: At Oakworth, we’re involved with numerous community organizations through our associates. They serve on multiple local boards and participate in organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Mobile Touchdown Club, Reese’s Senior Bowl, First Light Community of Mobile (formerly L’Arche Mobile), Camp Rap-A-Hope, Men of St. Joseph and The Seaman’s Foundation. We believe in putting a portion of our profits back into the community by supporting the organizations where our team members are involved and encouraging them to pursue their service passions.

LMF: What does the future look like for Oakworth?

LH: We look forward to continuing to grow through our regional approach and serving the businesses, professionals and family offices in our South Alabama communities.

LMF: What does success look like for Oakworth today and moving forward?

DM: Our core purpose is “Helping People Succeed,” and that attracts the right type of Oakworth associate. This requires a deeper understanding of our clients and organizing a team around them to reach their unique goals. They’ve built wealth, and they’re looking to best transition this to children, charities or organizations that are important to them. Many times, they don’t know what questions to ask first. We’re about building that relationship with our clients and determining what’s important to them, and then helping them succeed in a way they didn’t think was possible before partnering with Oakworth.