The Article
Independent Bankers Association of Texas recognizes FirstBank Southwest’s Bank Culture and Pandemic Response
Amarillo, TX – The Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT)—the largest state community banking association in the nation, recently honored FirstBank Southwest (FBSW) with two Best of Community Banking (BOCB) awards. FBSW received a Gold Eagle Award for their “FBSW…Where Family Truly Means Family” Bank Culture submission and a Bronze Eagle award for their Pandemic Response submission.
The Bank Culture submission focused on employee programs specific to developing bank culture internally as well as engaging employees. The Pandemic Response submission demonstrated what the Bank did to assist the frontline workers, assistance programs, and programs that supplemented employee offerings and pandemic needs.
Community banks, such as FirstBank Southwest, play a critical role in their local communities. The Best of Community Banking competition is designed to honor local banks for their commitment to helping their customers, neighbors, employees and community. BOCB Awards recognize community banks throughout the state for their innovation, creativity and success in fulfilling a specific community or internal need.
Andy Marshall, President and CEO of FirstBank Southwest, stated, “Here at FirstBank Southwest, ‘Faith. Family. Bank.’ are not just words, they aren’t a motto, they are how we live our lives. The order of the words are very intentional; Family is before Bank. We think of everyone at work as our family.”
“When it comes to home-life balance, we want to make sure staff takes care of their family first and goes to their children’s ballgames or recitals. We want them to be happy. Being happy at home means they are happy at work. And that is our anchor, Faith. Family. Bank., where family truly means family.”
“During the pandemic, the employees were our top priority. We wanted to ensure their health, safety, and mental well-being, as well as making sure that they were financially sound”, said Kelly Preston, SVP and Human Resources Director. Preston continued, “We wanted our employees to know that they were truly valued.”
ABOUT FIRSTBANK SOUTHWEST
FirstBank Southwest (“FBSW”) has nine banking center locations in Amarillo, Booker, Hereford, Pampa, and Perryton, Texas. It is the mission of FirstBank Southwest to be the preferred community bank in the greater Texas Panhandle by providing focused financial services for commercial customers and retail customers. For more than 100 years, FirstBank Southwest has met the needs of those working and living in The Panhandle. Get social with us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Visit us on our webpage at: https://fbsw.com/.
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT BANKERS ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS
Formed in 1974, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT) represents Texas community banks. The Austin-based group is the largest state community banking organization in the nation with membership comprised of more than 2,200 banks and branches in 700 Texas communities. Providing safe and responsible financial services to all Texans, IBAT member bank assets range in size from $21 million to $34 billion with combined assets statewide of $374 billion. IBAT member banks are committed to supporting and investing in their local communities.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
CONTACT: Rachel Smith, Marketing Director, 2401 S. Georgia, Amarillo, TX 79120
806.354.5245, [email protected]