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To make a declaration to symbolize the mission statement of his bank, Robert New Jr. sold his car.
At the end of August, the president and CEO of Houston-based Green Bank got rid of his gas-guzzling Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicle. Now he drives a Toyota Prius gasoline-electric hybrid.
"I put some thinking into this, and I had to lead by example," New says. "The first time I filled it up after driving 350 miles, the gas pump shut off after only 7.5 gallons. I thought I had broken the pump."
This environmentally conscious tone is part of the raison d'être behind a new marketing strategy the bank is rolling out this month.
New and Green Bank Chairman Manuel Mehos are gambling that the "green" motif will appeal to a mass market.
Green Bank is the newly christened brand name for the former Houston-based Redstone Bank NA. Redstone was acquired by Green Bancorp Inc., which was founded by Mehos, the former chief of Coastal Banc ssb. Announced in mid-2006, the acquisition closed on Dec. 31.
Redstone's three Houston offices -- including its flagship location at The Houstonian complex in the Post Oak area -- are being converted to carry the green and blue Green Bank logo. The bank, with 45 employees, has also just received regulatory approval to convert a loan production office in Austin into a full-service branch, marking its entry into that market.
The bank has about $50 million in capital, comprised of $20 million from original Redstone investors -- including former Redstone Bank Chairman David Shindeldecker, who remains a Green Bancorp director -- plus $20 million kicked in by California private equity firm Belvedere Capital Fund II LP and $10 million raised since the acquisition.
According to New, business has been brisk. The bank's three Houston offices started the year with $78 million in loans on the books, but that total has now reached $120 million.
Meanwhile, construction is proceeding on the bank's high-profile corporate showcase: A four-story, 20,000-square-foot headquarters building on Greenbriar just south of U.S. Highway 59, expected to open in March 2008.
Like New's choice of wheels, the building is being created to mirror a long-term goal of turning Green Bank into a "carbon-neutral" company. Created by Paul van der Wal of Houston's Vanderwal Architects, the building is being considered for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The building includes a roof made of heat-reflective material and windows that allow more natural light into work areas to cut down energy use. Collected rainwater will be used to keep the landscaping lush.
Green Bank employees will work with recycled paper and sit on furniture made of recycled materials. Office cleaners will use environmentally sensitive fluids. And the bank's choice of power company is Austin-based Green Mountain Energy Co.
Besides offering financial services, the bank's Web site is a garden of green ideas, offering links to earth-friendly initiatives, even including a personal carbon-footprint calculator designed by BP.
"This has evolved as we've become more aware of environmental issues," New says. "During the past two years since we picked the (Green Bank) name, the whole definition of what we are has changed from just a color to a state of mind."
But what New and banking industry observers see as the most significant part of Green Bank's marketing plan is in its paperless banking services.
Customers who opt for the Totally Green Transaction Account, using a debit card instead of writing checks, paying bills online and accessing any bank's ATM for free, will be rewarded with higher interest rates than other account holders who generate more paper.
Green Bank is also set to offer remote capture devices to commercial account customers. That means business customers can scan and deposit checks online from their own office rather than drive to a Green Bank location. Typically they would pay about $50 a month to lease the remote capture equipment, but can waive payment by maintaining certain account balance criteria.
As the footprint of the bank evolves -- with a plan to add three more branches in both Houston and Austin by the end of 2009 -- New says those offices will be atypically small in size and will be set up to work more like an Internet cafe, where customers can access computers on site.
Curtis Carpenter, managing director with investment banking firm Sheshunoff & Co. in Austin, expects Green Bank to win plenty of converts.
"In the market of financial institutions, there's a whole lot of sameness about them, and making a point of differentiation is very difficult," Carpenter says. "Appealing to environmental friendliness is a smart and fresh idea."
Despite the brand's obvious marketing potential, New says the bottom line is to provide the relationship style of banking that customers expect.
"We want to make a statement that we are a socially responsible corporate citizen," New says. "But first and foremost, we're bankers."
gbarr@bizjournals.com • 713-960-5932
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