JP Park, Chairman, CEO & President Global One Bank

Invest: spoke with JP Park, chairman, CEO and president of Global One Bank, about Houston’s business climate, the role of minority depository institutions, and Global One Bank’s relationship-driven approach to serving small businesses. “I want to be aggressive, but prudently aggressive,” Park said.

How would you describe Houston’s business climate today, and what trends have had the biggest impact on your clients?

Houston is one of the most important business centers in Texas, along with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. Over the past decade, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin have grown quickly, but in the last few years, Houston has regained momentum and is growing at a stronger pace.

Houston is also connected to the world, with flights to Europe, Asia, South America, and other global destinations. That connectivity is important for business and investment.

The city is also one of the most diverse in the country. Hispanic, African American, Asian, and many other communities live and work here. That diversity creates opportunities for businesses of every size, from large companies to small businesses.

Global One Bank is a small minority depository institution and community bank, so I watch what is happening across Houston and Texas. I also pay close attention to how small businesses and ethnic communities are growing. Small businesses cannot grow without a strong broader community base. Houston is supported by large companies, domestic investment, and international investment, and that creates opportunities for small businesses to grow.

I am optimistic about Houston. I believe Houston will continue to be an important center for investment, not only in Texas, but nationally and internationally. Global One Bank is a small bank, but sometimes small is beautiful. We can devote ourselves to Houston’s growth through the small-business communities we serve.

Which industries or sectors are creating the most opportunity for Global One Bank right now?

Small and medium-sized businesses create the most opportunity for us. A large share of businesses in the United States are small mom-and-pop businesses. Even though Texas has many Fortune 500 companies, small and medium-sized businesses are essential to the strength of the country.

Large banks focus on large clients and big-dollar relationships, but Global One Bank focuses on small and medium-sized businesses, many of which are owned by middle-class or lower-middle-class families. These business owners are our borrowers and depositors. They operate restaurants, stores, service businesses, and other community-based companies.

Minority depository institutions play an important role in this ecosystem. These institutions may be small, but their role is important because we serve customers and communities that may not receive the same level of attention from larger banks.

We support business owners who are working hard every day. Many of them are operating their businesses directly, managing employees, serving customers, and making payments on time. They are the foundation of the local economy. As the leader of Global One Bank, I am proud of what our staff, investors, and board of directors are doing to support them.

How are higher borrowing costs and economic uncertainty affecting your clients and lending activity?

We have to look at the situation on two levels: the global and national economy, and then the local communities we serve. The world economy is uncertain. I do not make long-term assumptions about deposits or lending over two or three years. I focus more on the next six months because it is difficult to know what will happen a year from now.

Interest rates are a good example. Until recently, many people expected interest rates to go down one or two times this year. Now, some people say rates may not go down, or may even go up. In a few months, the outlook could change again depending on the global situation, energy prices, and economic conditions.

At the community level, we can see the pressure directly. On Bellaire Boulevard, there are many Asian restaurants, including Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Hispanic, and mainstream restaurants. Recently, I have seen fewer customers during lunch and dinner. I visited a Thai restaurant that is usually popular, and only about 20% of the tables were occupied. That tells us something about the current environment.

Even when business slows down, loan payments remain the same. That creates stress for business owners. I always tell our staff to be kind and respectful to customers who come into the bank to make payments or handle deposits. Their sales may be down, but they are still working hard to meet their obligations.

For the bank, we must be careful when deciding loans. Small banks like ours depend heavily on loan products, including conventional loans and SBA loans. We do not have large wealth management divisions or many other products. That means we must be accurate in choosing the right loans and serving the right customers.

What advantages does a community bank like Global One Bank offer in a competitive banking environment?

Community banks have many disadvantages compared with large banks. Smaller banks cannot always offer the same technology systems or broad product platforms as institutions like Chase, Bank of America, or Wells Fargo.

However, our advantage is relationship banking. Our customers feel connected to us. We serve Chinese, Korean, Indian, Nepali, Vietnamese, Hispanic, and other communities. Many of our employees speak more than one language, and our customers often feel that we understand their culture and their challenges.

Most of our customers are small and medium-sized businesses, including mom-and-pop stores with a few employees. The owners are often working on-site every day. Even when the economy becomes difficult, they stay until the last minute and keep working.

We have home mortgage loans, SBA loans, and conventional loans, and our borrowers have generally performed well. I appreciate our customers’ effort because they work hard, bring deposits, and make payments on time.

Banking services are essential to daily life. Whether customers visit the bank every day or use services electronically, they rely on banks continuously. For that reason, one of my priorities is improving our IT systems as much as our budget allows. We want to offer better service while still maintaining the personal relationships that define our bank.

Relationship banking helps us make quicker and more accurate decisions about who truly needs a loan and how we can help them. To do that, we must build trust between the customer, the community, and the bank. Banking products are often similar from one institution to another, so the difference is in service, cultural understanding, and trust.

How does Global One Bank build trust with the communities it serves?

Trust comes from being present in the community. We participate in community events and affairs, financially and through service, as much as our budget allows. We work closely with customers and try to understand their businesses, their culture, their language challenges, and their banking needs.

We also train our staff to provide better service. Customers need to know that Global One Bank is with them, especially when they are facing challenges. We want to treat our customers with the same care and respect we would give to family.

There is no hidden secret. We have limited products, but we focus on loans, service, and relationship-based banking. As a minority depository institution, we need to be with community people and support them. If our customers survive and grow, the bank can survive and grow. Without their success, the bank cannot succeed.

What are your top priorities for Global One Bank over the next two to three years?

Over the next two to three years, we want to increase the number of branches. We have strong customer groups across many ethnic communities, and we want to serve them better.

Many Asian banks were established by one main community, such as the Chinese community, Korean community, or Indian community. Global One Bank is different because we are diversified across many communities. Our board members, investors, staff, and customers are diverse, including Asian communities, Hispanic communities, African American communities, and mainstream communities.

Our management team also has strong banking experience. We have many potential customers, but we need more deposits in order to do more SBA loans and conventional loans for community businesses. To grow responsibly, we need the right branches in the right locations.

Our focus is Houston, but we are also looking at opportunities to expand into Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and other markets. More deposits will allow us to make more loans and support more businesses in minority communities.

I do not want to be reckless. I want to be aggressive, but prudently aggressive. That is my goal for the next two to three years.