Rob C. Holmes
Dallas
Texas Capital Bank
President and CEO
You joined Texas Capital Bank in January of this year as President and CEO after spending three decades at JP Morgan Chase. What has that transition been like?
The transition has been super intense, but exciting. Firstly, we focused on the balance sheet. In less than 90 days, we issued a Perpetual preferred stock (a type of preferred stock that pays a fixed dividend to investors for as long as the company remains in business.) This was the largest capital raise in the company’s history. We also prioritized securitization (the procedure where an issuer designs a marketable financial instrument by merging or pooling various financial assets into one group), the first of its kind for a regional bank. This improved our capital by more than 260 basis points (unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value of financial instruments or the rate change in an index or other benchmark.)
Concurrently, we were recruiting a new Operating Committee internally and externally. Half of our leadership team here is new to the firm. We are building our team for what we want the bank to be, not what it is. And finally, we also formulated our go forward strategy which we announced to the street September 1st.
As President & CEO, what is your vision for the future of Texas Capital Bank?
Our vision is for TCB to become the flagship financial services firm in headquartered in Texas. We are going to do this by expanding into many adjacent segments that we have not traditionally formally covered with specific skill sets of bankers, unique products and services tailored to each segment. At the same time, we are expanding our platform to either enter an adjacent business or expand our capabilities in lines of businesses that we are in.
We also have the benefit of the best business environment in the country. Texas’ GDP is in the top 10 globally. We will have more Fortune 500 companies here than any other state soon, most likely. Each of those companies bring vendors here which create eco systems that will fuel more employment and growth. Business formation is also outperforming compared to other states.
I’m very excited about the future here. We have a lot of work to do, but we have the right game plan and path forward.
We are honored to have Texas Capital Bank sponsor our 38th Annual Hall of Fame Induction ceremony this fall. In your words, can you tell us how TCB’s mission aligns with The Texas Business Hall of Fame.
TCB is incredibly honored and excited to be a sponsor again this year. Our mission almost exactly aligns with TBHF’s. We desire to be the flagship financial services firm in Texas serving the best clients in our market. We accomplish that mission by focusing on four strategic goals.
- We want to be the employer of choice in Texas
- We aim to have strong execution that will earn us the right to provide advice when it counts
- We want to be a financially resilient bank that’s easy to do business with and is both proactive and responsive to client, employee, and community needs
- And we will build trusted relationships in our core markets and industries that will lead us to being the “first call” from top clients and prospects
You have a special familial connection to the Texas Business Hall of Fame. Your grandfather and great-uncle, Charles and Robert Cullum of the iconic Dallas grocer Tom Thumb, were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. What lessons in leadership and entrepreneurship did you learn from them?
I learned a great deal from my grandfather and great-uncle. The first is that expectations of yourself and your company should be extremely high. Next, humility is incredibly important. They were both exceedingly humble and giving of themselves. They invested a lot of time and money into the communities in which they lived and work. And finally, civic engagement is imperative. It is what you pay for the blessing of the opportunity to do business.
Texas Capital Bank plays a large role in its local Texas communities through philanthropic giving, community reinvestment, and impact investing. What role does community development play in TCB’s mission? How does community leadership go hand in hand with business leadership?
Texas Capital Bank’s work in community is embedded into the very fiber of our DNA as a company. One of our core values is to be accountable to our clients, communities, and stakeholders, and we take that very seriously. We believe that the best way to serve is to listen, and that when we empower others to prosper, we elevate our own perspectives.
Annually, Texas Capital Bank engages in Impact Investing to the tune of $133 million and donates over $1.7 million to nonprofits that serve under-resourced communities within our markets in Texas. Our community development lending has resulted in over 1,000 families per year being able to attain affordable housing, and annually creates over 500 jobs that pay a living wage. Additionally, the statistics tell us that 85% of consumers want brands to support causes they care about, and 67% of employees want to work for a socially responsible company.
Taking a leadership role in community investment truly does make an impact with all our stakeholders at the same time as it positively impacts the communities we serve. This is the definition of Corporate Social Responsibility: ‘Doing well by doing good’.
How do you define “excellence” in business?
Excellence is something you commit to every day. To be excellent in business, you must act with transparency, candor, and discipline. You must be accountable to one another, clients, communities, and stakeholders. At TCB, we strive for excellence by fostering a culture of trust through collaboration, inclusion, and respect.