2015 Trusted Advisers Banker: Derek Fraley

Derek Fraley hasn’t always been a commercial lender.

Before he donned his lender hat, he was a bank strategist working with financial risk management and bond portfolio programs.

It’s that background Fraley says gives him a more overall global perspective than that of a traditional lender.

“My background in interest rate risk and liquidity risk management makes me think differently than simply getting a deal done and getting as much business out of clients as I can,” he says.

Other areas of Fraley’s background – such as helping banks survive the Great Recession – also offer unique experiences his clients appreciate.

“I don’t think I’ve made a sales call yet,” Fraley says, noting his portfolio has been built from requests to look at potential clients’ relationships or business plans.

“I think that happens because of my background.”

Of course, Fraley’s current success also is built on his current work, including his desire to help cultivate the best possible outcome for his clients. In other words, putting a customer in a position to achieve whatever his or her goal may be.

“This may include longer amortizations and loan or deposit products you may not normally consider under their current situation,” says Fraley, adding such options may be better vehicles for clients to get to a five- or 10-year goal.

“Banking can’t be about just going with the person who will shave two basis points off your loan. A banker should understand, and help you understand, your company’s financial structure is more than merely the sum of its parts.

“This person should constantly help you tweak it as your longer term goals mature.”

Fraley’s relationship with his clients is just that – a relationship, one that takes time and dedication. But that’s how Fraley likes to work.

“The drawback to my high involvement, high touch approach is that it is very time consuming,” he says. “But the time is an investment in my clients, which I am happy to make. I would rather make a lesser number of clients stronger and more nimble than have a greater number of clients for whom I flip ‘deals’ as quickly as I can.”

Fraley also spends time investing his talent outside the office.

He currently teaches at the Missouri Bankers Association Executive Banking School, and is on its Legislative Affairs Committee.

He is a certified treasury professional, a certification designed to help manage the asset side of the balance sheet, and was a member of the Ozarks Bankers Association for four years, serving as president for two.

Outside the professional realm, Fraley is active in the community, helping establish a number of groups and serving on multiple boards. He founded the Missouri State University Rare Books and Special Collections endowment and helped found the groups committee, the William Daggett Society. He is an alum of Leadership Springfield Class 24 and recently began serving as a trustee for the Springfield-Greene County Library District. He is an elected board member of the Battlefield Fire Protection District Board of Directors, among a handful of other board appointments.