What constitutes a solid hiring process? What is the proper capitalization for a given enterprise? These aren’t questions most business owners ask a banker, but these questions and others like them drive Craig Scheef, CEO of Texas Security Bank.

“We are bankers who can sit across the table from a business owner and say we’ve built a business from a blank piece of paper to profi tability,” he says. “We put in our own hard-earned cash. We know what it’s like to sweat a payroll. And that’s why we built this bank—to serve owner-managed businesses.”

Currently ranked as one of the fastest growing and most profitable banks in the United States, Texas Security is all about supporting free enterprise.

THE POWER OF LEARNING

There is a “very deliberate” training program for Texas Security bankers, according to Scheef. In addition to staying current with best practices in lending, ongoing education in numerous business disciplines is key to making sure that bankers can serve as a comprehensive business resource for their customers. And to make sure all business owners have access to best practices, Texas Security created the TSB Business Institute.

“A big part of our service offering is continuing education for business owners,” Scheef says. “The Texas Security Bank Business Institute is a monthly continuing education forum. Each presentation is designed to provide best practices in critical business disciplines.”

Open to customers and those who just want to learn more, the Institute supports the ongoing education of approximately 500 business owners and their employees annually.

THE GOLDEN NUGGET: OPPORTUNITY

In quick succession, Scheef can rattle off the names of people who started with nothing and built their businesses over time with hard work and personal sacrifice. One customer married his high school sweetheart, joined the military, and returned home to use his training to start a company that supports manufacturing. Another worked at a convenience store and is now a millionaire.

“We wanted to build a bank that appreciates the business owner-manager. We exist to provide them with the resources they don’t even know they need to be successful,” Scheef says.

The common thread Scheef sees running through it all is what Texas Security Bank is all about: “elevating the champions of free enterprise.”