Interview: Anthony DeSalle

Anthony DeSalle

President & CEO Crest Savings Bank

What role do community banks play amid an industry in consolidation mode?

There have been waves of consolidations across the banking industry for many reasons and that makes a lot of sense for certain companies. However, community banks will always have a place in the market. Community banks are strongly tied to their communities and local decisionmaking is of great value to customers. We can’t do everything but we are uniquely positioned to understand our customers, we have a great understanding of our marketplace, and we can communicate more quickly and effectively than larger institutions. Some of our customers don’t fit at a larger bank and wouldn’t receive the same quality of service and market-specific expertise we provide.

How well can community banks compete in terms of providing digital services?

We offer a product line that competes with any regional or money-center bank. We have had online banking and mobile for many years and we have made it a priority to identify trends in technology as early as possible. Being smaller can be a challenge in terms of scale sometimes but we are highly flexible. We can pivot and make decisions very quickly internally, including when it comes to technology. We can deliver our products and services through all channels and we pride ourselves on meeting the needs of today’s consumer.

What does the future of the retail space look like for community banks?

Even if you look at the very large banks, some are opening branches in new markets. The future of branches at Crest Savings Bank will be different and undergo a continual evolution and COVID-19 has certainly accelerated that evolution. The branch experience is still necessary. We have the technology for the virtual engagement of our customer, but the more complex, personal transactions are better suited for face-to-face interaction in a branch. Studies show that having branches matters since consumers enjoy the option of multiple channels.

South Jersey is home to 25 of the state’s Top 100 banks headquartered in the state.

Growth Drivers Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been the banking and finance industry’s most difficult challenge since the 2008-9 financial crisis, many lenders and financial institutions came through with it unprecedented gains, thanks in large part to PPP. There are few signs that the growth enjoyed in 2020 will slow down in the near term.

One emerging vehicle in the finance sector are the so-called SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies. While Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) see companies sell their shares to the public on a stock exchange, SPACs are shell companies that are used to raise money from investors with a two-year deadline to buy a company. Nationwide, SPACs are proving effective for companies looking for liquidity solutions and a viable alternative to IPOs, so much so that by mid-January 2021, there were nearly 300 SPACs registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) totaling close to $100 billion in capital. Although New Jersey has not proven a hotspot for IPOs in recent years (only eight were registered between 2018-19), the Garden State’s strong life science sector is expected to become a strong catalyst for SPACpowered ventures in the near future.