Writer: Jerrica DuBois
3 min read January 2024 — Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners has opened a temporary office in Columbia, Maryland, expanding its national footprint and showcasing the strength of Middle Tennessee as a financial hub. Pinnacle already has a 14-member team to man the limited service office, and the bank is looking to open a full service bank in an adjacent building later this year.
“Our concept that we’ve proved here in Nashville has proven to be exportable to other markets,” Pinnacle CEO Terry Turner said, as cited by Nashville Business Journal. “If we were totally reliant on economic growth I would be less optimistic but our ability to take share is what provides me that optimism.”
Pinnacle first entered the D.C. market in 2021, opening a branch in McLean, Virginia. The bank has also entered into the Sunshine State, with five financial services industry veterans set to build the firm’s presence in North Florida. Overall, Pinnacle boasts over $47.5 billion in assets and American Banker named it the 4th best bank to work for in 2023.
Growing from a single location in downtown Nashville in 2000 to becoming the No. 1 bank in the Nashville MSA based on deposits according to FDIC data, Turner attributed Pinnacle’s success in Music City and expansion markets to its banking relationships. “Coalition Greenwich data show us leading the pack in virtually every measure of client satisfaction and therefore seemingly best positioned to continue winning new business away from our competitors. We have built a people-first approach to ‘high touch and high tech’ banking, and it’s yielded these demonstrably different results,” he said.
While strategic growth equates to market expansion for some financial institutions in Middle Tennessee, there are others who chose to evolve internally to foster advancement. The Tennessee Credit Union recently introduced Ten Credit Union (TENCU), which is a reimagining of its digital footprint. Significant enhancements to the platform include the launch of a new website, making for a more user-friendly experience. Other updates include the credit union’s online banking platform, which is now live, and video banking service which allows the user to make a face-to-face connection with a banking expert from their home or office.
There are also a number of banks looking to expand their presence in the region. Fifth Third Bank, a major player in the Midwest, is upping its presence in the Southeast with a plan to open 31 additional branches in 2024. The bank already operates 320 branches in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Nashville is currently home to 16 of those offices, and while it has yet to be announced where exactly the new branches will be located, it is not far-fetched to believe a few of them will find their way to Middle Tennessee.
Fifth Third’s focus on the Southeast is on par with growth and development as more residents and businesses continue to migrate to the region. Bradford Vieira, EVP and regional CEO of ServisFirst Bank Nashville, sees that growth as an opportunity, and the key to navigating it successfully is customer service and relationships.
“Our models are simple,” Vieira told Invest:. “We cater to business owners and their operating companies. At ServisFirst Bank, we get to know our clients on a personal level. We understand who they are, their business goals and ensure we provide the capital and services they need to successfully run their businesses.”
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