Building Relationships has Helped Build Oaks Bank & Trust; Staff Longevity & Solid Management are Keys to Reaching 20th Anniversary

DALLAS — Good management and remembering that successful banks focus on customer relationships helped The Oaks Bank & Trust Company – chartered 20 years ago – avoid the pitfalls that reshaped the banking landscape in the mid-1980s.

Chairman Max Wells and Lex Johnston (1928-1992) founded Oaks Bank & Trust on May 17, 1985, taking over what remained of a small Dallas bank that was the 34th institution shut down by federal regulators that year.

“We founded Oaks Bank & Trust Company knowing that with wise management and the right focus we’d have a chance to succeed,” said Wells, who had a long track record of bank management. “Because of the strong leadership of our board of directors and the outstanding performance of our officers and staff in responding to our customers' needs, we grew and prospered.”

The concept that banking is a “personal business” was the idea behind the community bank, and Wells and Johnston set out to prove that customer relationships, rather than the rigid rules adhered to by the large banking corporations, were the key to longevity.

Indeed, since its founding Oaks Bank & Trust has grown to $115 million in assets and increased its capital strength fivefold. Its stable performance and reputation enables coverage of individual loans up to about $2.5 million and a full range of services for its primary market of entrepreneurs and small to medium-size businesses.

"By focusing on building relationships with our customers, we have always been able to find appropriate financial solutions," says Dennis Van Fossen, Oaks' president.

Thriving for 20 years with only one management and ownership team, the continuity of the bank’s employees is reflected throughout the organization with many staff members having a decade or more of service. This includes four who were there on opening day: Chairman Wells, Executive Vice President Kyle Turner, Vice President Renee Clarkson, manager of the bank’s Preston Trail office, and Emmela Baldwin, supervisor of the Loan and Credit Department.

While determined to remain moderately sized, Oaks Bank has expanded from its original office at Greenville Avenue and University Boulevard to include four others in Dallas, Duncanville and Richardson. Each of the offices has an experienced manager who is also a senior lending officer, available to provide rapid personal service backed with local knowledge. This approach allows Oaks Bank to consider the majority of loan applications in 48 hours or less, providing customers with the liquidity they need, when they need it.

“Banking is all about relationships,” Wells says. “If you’re an entrepreneur, you need more than good checking and teller service. You’re concerned with how willing your bank is to stand behind you through the ups and downs of your business. You want to know that you will have access to the resources to seize a great opportunity or get funding to help you through a business emergency.”

This individual attention places Oaks Bank well beyond the level of customer care of most other banks. But it also offers “Big Bank” services including online banking at www.oaksbank.com, ATM service, automated clearinghouse (ACH) originations, online wire origination with the Federal Reserve Bank, and electronic processing of federal tax payments for deposit account clients.

The bank also provides insurance and associated financial services through its affiliate Texas BancPartners Insurance Agency LLC, and commercial and residential mortgage services through the Parkvest BancGroup.

Oaks Bank & Trust Company Locations

17370 Preston Road at Summerside Drive
Dallas, Texas
972-250-1191

4849 Greenville Ave. at University Boulevard
Dallas, Texas
214-361-7400

2522 McKinney Ave. at Routh Street
Dallas, Texas
214-720-0112

338 S. Cedar Ridge at Wheatland Road
Duncanville, Texas
972-296-2265

901 Central Expy.at Campbell Road
Richardson, Texas
972-690-6282