Abel Harding, Market President – North Florida, First Horizon Bank
Abel Harding, market president for North Florida at First Horizon Bank, sat down with Invest: to discuss trends in Jacksonville’s robust and growing banking and finance sector, how services are evolving to meet client needs, service areas that will be prioritized looking ahead, and more.
What was First Horizon’s impact on the Jacksonville area in the past year?
We remain focused on growth while serving our clients and community. If you look at where our contributions have been over the last 12 to 15 months, we have helped folks buy homes, helped individuals grow their money to prepare for retirement, helped businesses add jobs, helped companies expand their locations and acquire others, and more. A highlight reel of the past year would include each of these aspects. I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the volunteer efforts of our staff here in Jacksonville. We have done everything from teaching financial literacy at summer youth camps to planting shade trees in city parks.
What is the state of banking and finance in Jacksonville?
The national news named Jacksonville the second-best job growth city in Florida in 2023. Our chamber and JAXUSA have done a great job of attracting new businesses to Jacksonville and We have homegrown companies that are successful and continue to grow. That by its nature draws people. People want to be where good jobs are and be in a city that is affordable to live in with available housing. That is something we need to continue to work on. These markers are attractive to banks and financial institutions. Jacksonville has always been a competitive market for banking, and it is becoming more crowded. Over the last six-to-eighteen months, we have had a number of national organizations and institutions announce their plans to further grow and expand in Jacksonville. We have had new regional and community institutions come into the market, as well. If it was crowded before, it’s definitely crowded now.
What industry trends are making an impact on your operations?
Certainly, there is a lot of talk about what the future of artificial intelligence holds for the banking and finance industry. I am not the expert on that, but we have folks within our organization who are on top of those trends. Online banking is reality, not a trend. Many fintechs are competing with banks by offering some of the same services, but theirs are entirely online and held in your hand via your phone. Another huge shift in our industry is the transfer of wealth going on as the baby boomer population continues to age. There is and will continue to be data indicating a huge shift in wealth to women and younger generations. This naturally leads to more competition as firms vie to manage those relationships. With all of this change, however, for all of the tools and capabilities many organizations are able to offer online, there is still a particular need for face-to-face interaction. Everyone wants something different out of a banking and wealth management relationship, but there is still demand among clients to know their banker one-on-one as a person. The ability to share life updates that allow a financial expert to build an individualized portfolio for each client. That’s what our team strives to deliver, and that’s something that clients appreciate face-to-face.
What challenges are banks navigating today?
One of the biggest challenges is that it is a crowded market. Jacksonville is a desirable place for a lot of organizations, including financial institutions. The market will only get more crowded with time. The challenge for us is figuring out how to reach the clients and prospects we want to help. Our team does a great job with the clients we have in being proactive in the advice we offer, but how do we continue to reach new people? That continues to be the main challenge we experience as an organization.
If you look across what is going on in our industry right now, everyone is clamoring for the same deposit pool in the United States. You have to have the right team to succeed in growing. The downside of a crowded market is a stagnant market with little growth. Growth is a good thing for our community. I’ve spent my entire professional career in this market and feel lucky to have been part of that growth.
What are your priorities for First Horizon in the near term?
I can speak to our focus in Jacksonville.
We will continue to grow our money management group and private banking team. That is a space where we believe there is a need, and we have a great team, products, and service to deliver.
We are also growing our commercial banking team due to the fact that Jacksonville is primed for growth.
As the market president, I strive to equip my bankers with the tools they need to offer guidance and resources to the clients we serve. I’m actively engaged in the community and encourage our team to be as we look to expand our footprint and positively impact our city.
