Brett Magers will be the first to admit his bank might not be a customer’s best choice.
It might sound strange coming from the chief lending officer at Legacy Bank and Trust, but managing a banking portfolio of $51.6 million across 275 clients has taught Magers the value of being a small bank. Not only can he make credit decisions in four hours or find some flexibility on equity or down payments, he also knows service makes the difference when he can’t match a bigger bank’s rate.
“You would hate to mess up a customer’s world by being greedy and trying to hang on to something,” Magers says. “I’ve always been quick to say, ‘This is what we can do or can’t do, and there is a bank in town that might be able to do it better.’ It never seems to hurt us.”
It certainly hasn’t hurt Magers. He’s steadily built his client list since joining Legacy Bank in 2011, when he inherited a portfolio worth about $10 million. Since 2013, he’s grown his personal portfolio 68 percent from $30.7 million by adding 50-60 clients per year with help from a strengthening market. And sometimes sacrificing one deal creates more opportunities down the road.
“Maybe we lose one loan, but we gain a customer,” Magers says. “When you act more like an adviser than a banker, you’re not transactional at that point. You’re a relationship.”
That approach doesn’t go unnoticed by Magers’ peers.
“Brett is not satisfied with showing up from 9 to 5, but rather works the requisite hours needed to exceed the expectations of his clients and grow his book of business,” says Parks & Jones attorney Cameron Jones. “He has helped countless numbers of my clients find viable solutions for seemingly impossible problems. This is a rare but valuable quality in the commercial lending and banking field.”
Another strategy for building business is diversifying Legacy Bank’s lending types. Bankwide, Magers notes there’s been a recent push toward U.S. Department of Agriculture and Farm Service Agency guaranteed loans, but he is carving out a niche in investment properties and nonowner-occupied real estate.
“It’s probably 30 percent of our portfolio,” Magers says. “It’s our bread and butter.”
Outside of the Springfield area, Magers represents the industry as a member of the Missouri Bankers Association’s legislative affairs council. Keeping the ear of elected officials is an important part of the job because as financers of small businesses, vehicles and farms, Magers feels the MBA represents not just community banks, but also communities themselves.
After a decade in the local industry, Magers says the most important lesson he has learned is treating the role of a bank as a partner in the businesses it backs.
“I don’t think there’s any business that is more tied to their customers than banking,” Magers says. “If they don’t perform, the bank doesn’t perform.”
His advice for the next generation of hopeful advisers?
“If you’re willing to work harder than anyone else in your respective position, things will work out for you,” Magers says. “Hard work is irreplaceable.”
