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Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor
Steve Alexander, Associate Editor
Bud Wayne, Marketing
& Production Manager
Christy Rivers -
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Bill Wiedel
President & CEO, Board of Directors
CFG Bank
Interview conducted by:
Bud Wayne, Editorial Executive
CEOCFO Magazine
Published – August 15, 2022
CEOCFO: Mr. Wiedel, how long have you been with CFG Bank and how is it that you came to take on the role of President and CEO?
Mr. Wiedel: I have been with the bank a little over ten years and I have been president and CEO for almost four years. As CFO, I was successful at solving problems and working well with people to grow our business and meet the needs of our clients. I believe these traits were very appealing to the bank’s owner, Jack Dwyer.
CEOCFO: Mr. Wiedel, you have been in banking for 41 years, some as a CFO. How has your prior experiences shaped your role at CFG Bank?
Mr. Wiedel: I like to think of myself as an observant person. In my banking career, I have seen a lot of good things and a lot of bad things. I feel like I have been able to take all those experiences to shape my approach to running CFG Bank.
CEOCFO: Would you give us a little background and history of the bank, which was founded by John W. “Jack” Dwyer?
Mr. Wiedel: Jack’s background is in healthcare finance lending to nursing homes across the country under a HUD program. It is like mortgage banking for nursing homes where you make a loan, create Ginnie Mae security, sell it to Wall Street and service the loan while HUD guarantees the loan. As a loan servicer, you typically would send a loan in workout back to HUD, but in over 35 years we have never put one loan back to HUD. As a result, Jack has a sterling reputation with HUD as well as the marketplace. With our industry expertise and entrepreneurial approach, we’ve also gotten creative to offer bridge loans to clients who want a HUD loan but are not ready to qualify for the HUD loan.
Prior to buying the bank, Jack’s business was funded by lines of credit from some of the largest banks in the country. Then when the financial crisis hit in 2008, those banks got out of many businesses forcing Jack to seek alternative financing. Rather than seeing a problem, Jack – being an entrepreneur – saw this as an opportunity to buy a bank. There was a little bank called America’s Bank, in Baltimore, that was on the precipice of failure, so Jack bought it and integrated his healthcare finance business into the bank, with the vision to build out the best bank in Baltimore.
CEOCFO: You have led the bank through some very important changes over the years. Would you tell us about some of the more significant ones and where the vision for the bank is today?
Mr. Wiedel: The first thing I did when I became president and CEO was build a talented senior management team that exudes company values and embraces a whatever-
Just over the past couple of years, we’ve expanded our business exponentially. We increased our focus on the multifamily lending business; we have done private-
With our entrepreneurial approach to banking and lending, we enjoy supporting niche businesses as they have less competition and offer larger margins. These larger margins allow us to invest more in our traditional banking business and be more patient with those investments. We will continue to look for other niche businesses to help grow the bank. I would say our other vision for the bank is to continue offering the best customer experience we can to help our clients reach and exceed their business and personal goals.
CEOCFO: Has there been any significant changes to your team over the past few years?
Mr. Wiedel: When I first became president and CEO, I hired five direct reports in my first eighteen months. I was very lucky, each one ended up being excellent at their jobs and fit well into our company culture, which is key for us. The positions were CFO, Chief Lending Officer, Chief Credit Officer, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Risk Officer. Beyond that, everything below the senior management level has been constantly evolving, to support the growth and complexity of our business.
CEOCFO: Are you more of a business/commercial bank than a consumer bank? What is the mix and would you like to see that change?
Mr. Wiedel: We are primarily a commercial bank, only offering lending services to our commercial clients, however, we are looking to partner with another group to expand lending services to our personal banking clients. Our consumer clients enjoy our deposit services, online banking, mobile money and savings accounts. We only have three branches, aside from our headquarters, and the savings from not having a large branch network, allows us to offer some of the highest money market and CD rates in the country. We see ourselves continuing that strategy.
Since we only have three branches, we put an emphasis on bringing in commercial business deposits. We are looking to grow that through various initiatives that are in the planning stage.
CEOCFO: Which of the different industries that you serve provides the greatest revenue potential for your bank today?
Mr. Wiedel: Given our great reputation in the long-
CEOCFO: What role does the cannabis industry play in your strategy? Is there a great deal of growth potential there?
Mr. Wiedel: We are very entrepreneurial here, so we are always looking for niche type businesses to get involved with, as I mentioned earlier. When we looked at cannabis, we felt were in a good position to support that industry because we are privately owned and we are very entrepreneurial in our approach to solving problems through lending, so we are not afraid to do things that are challenging. We noticed the cannabis industry was getting most their funding from private equity, friends and family, and they were paying a very high interest rate. We felt there was a need for more efficient financing which is what we are providing.
That business has been very robust for us because there is not a lot of competition, because most banks just are not interested in getting into that business. We see that as playing a fairly sizable role in our growth down the road. As one of the few banks to support this industry, we’re proud to help businesses that create jobs, fuel the economy and provide medical relief to many. As the cannabis industry continues to expand, we’ll continue to grow as well, leveraging our unique structure and no-
CEOCFO: On your website it says, “We’re transforming the banking experience.” What does that mean for CFG? Does that have to do with technology and FinTech products that millennials and gen Zers have become accustom to and are looking for?
Mr. Wiedel: It is not so much a reflection of technology, although we do offer big bank capabilities and state-
We very much stress relationships and partnership. We want win/win relationships for everyone we deal with. One of the things that sets us apart is that we have high-
CEOCFO: With the rise of online banking, mobile apps, and people staying at home because of COVID, is the personal touch still important for you and your customers or do you find with the newer generations that are in the workforce these things don’t matter as much?
Mr. Wiedel: In commercial lending there is always going to be a place for the personal touch because when you think about commercial lending, few loans are similar unlike a residential mortgage or credit card. Our state-
We know every bank will tell you they offer personalized care, but we’re different because we follow through on that promise. Our personal phone numbers are always available to our clients because we are dedicated to supporting them, whether during or after “typical” office hours. We have big bank capabilities to meet our clients’ needs, with the boutique bank care that is the foundation and core of who we are.
CEOCFO: You have locations in Baltimore, Annapolis, Lutherville. Would you tell us about the communities that you serve? Are they more rural or urban? What changes have you seen over the past two years?
Mr. Wiedel: We have a branch in the city and the suburbs, but if you are thinking about healthcare, multifamily and cannabis businesses, we are actually nationwide.
CEOCFO: Are you looking to grow the number of branches in the near future?
Mr. Wiedel: We look at branches very strategically. Being primarily a commercial lender, we do not need a large branch network. However, we just opened a branch and loan production office in Annapolis and the reason was that we already had a pretty good presence in southern Anne Arundel County, and due to a bank merger, we were able to hire two more high-
CEOCFO: Is branding important?
Mr. Wiedel: Yes, branding is very important to us. Having a strong, recognizable brand is crucial to our success because it’s ultimately how our clients and future clients will feel and think about CFG Bank. Our unique brand positioning expresses the way we want our clients, team members and communities to feel and think about us every time they engage with our team.
CEOCFO: How has opening an office in West Annapolis worked for you?
Mr. Wiedel: Actually, it just opened last week so I will have to get back to you on that, but since we’ve partnered with Anne Arundel County businesses and residents for 10+ years, the initial response has been wonderful. Our Annapolis team continues to grow and we’re already doing a significant amount out business out of that office.
CEOCFO: When you add branches is it through acquisition, de novo or a mix?
Mr. Wiedel: We add through de novo. I would say acquisition is not a priority for us. We are focused on growing our business organically.
CEOCFO: Since 2019, we have seen COVID and now inflation and economic challenges? How have you helped your customers deal with these challenges?
Mr. Wiedel: Like so many banks, we were very involved in the PPP program. Our team worked around the clock, seven days a week trying to get loans into the system before the money ran out. We worked with our clients who were affected by COVID, clients in the restaurant industry, hotels, etc. to give them the flexibility that they needed to get through that incredibly difficult time.
More than offering banking and lending support, giving back to our community is engrained in everything we do, and we actively create programs to support our employees, clients and communities. During the height of COVID, we created the Meals for Healthcare Heroes Program, which provided meals to frontline healthcare workers at skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Maryland. We actually partnered with a restaurant client to prepare the meals, and another client who runs a transportation service to help deliver the meals to frontline workers. As a result of this program, three Maryland restaurants were able to rehire employees who were furloughed due to COVID-
CEOCFO: CFG Bank was named #1 Best Place to Work in 2022 by the Baltimore Business Journal. What does that mean for you?
Mr. Wiedel: We have won quite a few awards, but we are most proud of this award. Winning this award is a true testament to our unique vibe and company culture where everyone is treated like family, and how all our employees live our brand – from embracing an entrepreneurial spirit to come up with creative solutions for our clients and communities, to supporting and celebrating everyone’s individuality, goals and successes, and so much more. It means our employees enjoy coming into work and interacting with each other, and that they recognize that management has their best interest at heart. It means we all work well together to achieve our common goal of being the best bank we can be.
CEOCFO: CFG Bank was also named #3 Top Loan Producer by the Independent Banker. How did you manage that? What was the strategy? Was it because of your incredible team?
Mr. Wiedel: When the pandemic hit, a lot of banks stepped to the sidelines where we kept lending. It was interesting because when other banks stepped to the sidelines there was less competition, so we were able to get some of the best loans in our markets. This reduced competition and the great team that we have really drove our growth over the past couple of years.
With our team’s entrepreneurial approach and competitive edge, we take on our clients’ goals are as our own and execute customized solutions to help them succeed.
CEOCFO: In closing, what sets CFG Bank apart from other banks that serve in your locations?
Mr. Wiedel: I am going back to the quality of our team and our entrepreneurial approach to solving problems with creative lending and banking solutions. We’re not your typical bank. We are bold, entrepreneurial, tenacious – and make everything we do personal. We are a partner to our clients; we know them – and their unique banking and business needs.
At CFG Bank, we think and act like business owners and have a no-
CFG Bank | Bill Wiedel | Maryland Banks | CFG Bank is Transforming the Banking Experience. Q&A with CEO Bill Wiedel | CEO Interviews 2022 | Community Bank
“We’re not your typical bank. We are bold, entrepreneurial, tenacious – and make everything we do personal. At CFG Bank, we think and act like business owners and have a no-
Bill Wiedel