Community Bank Chairman looks back at meteoric rise
Thomas Colbert says workers "won't quit their own company"

It was a gesture that sums up Thomas Colbert’s career in banking.

This past President’s Day, when most banking executives are at home relaxing on their day off, Colbert was catching up on paperwork at Community Bank’s Brandon location. As fate would have it that cold, blustery February day, the branch’s ATM suddenly went on the blink. When Colbert discovered this, he put his mantra of “customer service” into practice.

“I stood outside and told folks that we’d pay their fee if they went to any other ATM in town,” Colbert says matter-of-factly. “One lady came up to me and said that she only wanted to get five dollars out for lunch, that she only had a quarter on her.” Colbert proceeded to pull out a five dollar bill from his own wallet and give it to the hungry woman. “I can’t bear to see our customers not taken care of,” Colbert says.

It’s that type of “whatever it takes” attitude that has made Colbert and his Community Banks so successful today. The bank is now a one billion, two-hundred million dollar financial institution that is showing no signs of slowing down. Not bad for the man born in Treblcoc (Colbert backwards) Mississippi some 63 years ago.

Colbert’s banking career started in 1968 when he assumed the position of CEO of Community Bank’s precursor, Farmers and Merchants Bank, at the ripe age of 28. An Ole Miss graduate with a degree in Banking and Finance, Colbert took the reins of the Forest, MS-based bank with some unorthodox ideas up his sleeve.

“I learned, early in my career, that the way to get something done is to work through people,” Colbert relates. “What can you get them to do? I decided to get my employees more involved in the bank. An employee incentive program was started first, whereby we paid people on staff to solicit business, which was unheard of in banking in those days,” he says. It’s a program the bank still has in place.

“Also, at that time, our pension plan mandated that in order to be fully vested you had to be at least 65 years old and have 30 years of service,” Colbert continues.”I thought that penalized young employees. So, I got the Board to agree to dissolve the pension plan and start a profit-sharing plan giving them a percentage of the profits. The employee would be 100% vested at the end of six years. This had never been done,” he laughs. “I had an older Board member remark to me, ‘Thomas, at the end of six years you’re going to lose all of your people.’ I said, ‘Well, sir, if that’s the only reason they’re staying, I’d rather they leave.’ ”

Colbert says the fruits of such programs came immediately. “It makes a difference,” he says. “I expanded the employee stock ownership plan in the early 80’s. With everyone being an owner, you act like an owner. Because of that, we have an incredible retention rate—you don’t quit your own company.”

The bank began its expansion and growth in 1979 when Colbert bought People’s Bank in Indianola. Later, starting in the mid-80’s and continuing through the 90’s, Colbert began acquiring and opening new banks in Laurel, Brandon, Raleigh, Jackson, Flowood, Ellisville, Meridian, Gulfport, Southaven, Olive Branch and one soon to open in Hernando. All of the Community Banks are unusual in that they are totally employee-owned and autonomous.

“All of our banks operate under the same name, but they operate independently,” Colbert explains. “Each one has its own individual board and individual presidents thereby acting as true ‘community’ banks, hence our name. It is a very unique structure that has worked incredibly well for us,” he says.

As for what’s ahead, Colbert says simply: more of the same.

“This year, we will increase our offices by 40%, adding eight new facilities in markets we are already in,” he informs. “We are projecting that assets will hit about a billion and a half in five years if we stay in our current mode. Plus, all of our local presidents are young men and women, so our future is assured,” Colbert says.

While it’s not everyday that you see a successful banking CEO helping customers outside on a holiday, it seems only natural after talking with Thomas Colbert that he would go to such lengths. Obviously, the enthusiastic spirit the young 28-year old new bank president had has not been tempered with age. DBJ