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his favorites are books by management guru Pat-
cisco’s reputation as a good business city has tak-
rick Lencioni, including “The Ideal Team Player,”
en a hit in recent years, and banks have been shut-
which Beckwith says lays out three “fundamental
tering more branches than they’re opening. More
attributes” that are critical to employee success:
than a few observers have questioned Five Star’s
Being “hungry, humble and smart.” It’s a philoso-
move, but for Beckwith it represents a shot at a
phy that, among other things, emphasizes humility
market with $467 billion in deposits that he never
with clients and “emotional intelligence, being able
thought he’d get. “It’s a great city,” he says. “It
to read a room.”
has some issues, but it had issues 40 years ago.”
Employees are asked to read Lencioni’s books.
Things appear off to a good start. The goal is to
Many participate in an eight-month development
do more C&I lending than CRE in the Bay Area
program “to create a common culture and lan-
and raise core deposits. To boost its name recog-
guage,” Beckwith says. It’s not a place for slack-
nition in the market, Five Star began underwriting
ers. At Five Star, “the worst thing you can do is let
the San Francisco Giants’ pregame shows. Kurtze
your colleagues or clients down,” he adds. “We’re
voices the ads, which end with “We believe in San
not for everybody. You have to be continuously im-
Francisco.” This fall it will double down with the
proving. You can’t hide here.”
opening of its first Bay Area branch at 345 Cali-
While training is important, Beckwith says hir-
fornia Center in the heart of the financial district.
ing people with communication skills and “grit”
Those things cost money. Terrell estimates that
matters more in a business where doors are tough
Five Star’s expenses will rise 13% in 2024, due
to open and frequently get slammed shut. “Grit
mostly to the Bay Area expansion, but he expects
is more important than anything,” he says. “You
revenues to grow at twice that pace. They are “still
want to hire people who can tough it out and not
generating positive operating leverage while rein-
lose confidence easily.” The company puts pro-
vesting,” he says.
spective employees through extensive interviews
And from there? To date, Five Star’s opportu-
and employs predictive indexing to better under-
nistic streak has been limited to organic initiatives.
stand their makeups “and ensure that their world
But the Bay Area remains disrupted, and more
view is consistent with what the job requires.”
than a few banks are struggling. “With the 2023
failures, everyone has been painted with the same
“We Believe in San Francisco”
brush,” Perry-Smith says, and that feels like an-
The emphasis on sales isn’t lost on Kurtze, who
other chance to capitalize on chaos, this time via
joined Five Star in June 2023. He’s recruiting Bay
acquisition. M&A “is absolutely in our strategic
Area bankers and says the uncapped incentive
plan,” he adds. “This company is not about grow-
plan is “huge” for helping to land top talent. Most
ing slowly.”
banks will limit incentive payouts to a percentage
of annual salaries.
“If you really want to be a high-growth sales organization, it’s an important piece,” he says. “We’re
hiring bankers who want to grow. They’re not just
comfortable knowing they’ll get up to 50% of their
salary every year if they stay under the radar. [The
lack of caps] incentivizes them to grow.”
The team has its work cut out for it. San Fran-
John Engen is a contributing writer for
Bank Director.
