Year In The Life of First Green Bank Documentary (Full Version) _Dec 2016

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Year In The Life of First Green Bank Documentary (Full Version) _Dec 2016

https://youtu.be/VwBdf8KKBQ8

CapInstitute Subscribe207 Add to Share More 141 views 0 0

Published on Dec 3, 2016 Category Nonprofits & Activism License Standard YouTube License COMMENTS Peter Burgess Add a public comment...

Autoplay Up next Regenerative Capitalism Launch Recording, Yale CBEY, 4-21-15 CapInstitute 2,006 views

Transcript

English (Automatic Captions) 0:09it's very clear to me that how we invest 0:11capital and how capital flows and in 0:13particular how banks what banks finance 0:16is very much a critical leverage point 0:18perhaps the critical leverage point in 0:21in resetting and an economy in a way 0:24that actually is is regenerative in 0:27there for sustainable over a long period 0:28of time 0:35we live today at the intersection of an 0:39old economy that measures wealth 0:41narrowly based mostly on short-term 0:43financial gain a new regenerative 0:46economy that measures wealth in terms of 0:48the health and well-being of all human 0:50communities and all natural life capital 0:54institute is dedicated to exploring this 0:56crossroads and to supporting the 0:58transition to a regenerative economy and 1:01we found a great place to study this 1:03transition and how difficult the 1:05challenges can be with first green bank 1:07first screen was founded by can row a 1:11successful Central Florida banker who 1:13set out to build a profitable bank 1:15driven by his passion for the 1:17environment as it has turned out he has 1:20faced many challenges along the way that 1:23this area is was historically rural and 1:27agricultural very very low population 1:30it's exploded with as a better community 1:35orlando there's a lot of sprawl a lot of 1:37unmanaged growth which is rips my heart 1:40out honestly I'm just determined to not 1:43let this play slip away and go the the 1:46route of many other areas and flora in 1:492006 after the successful sale of the 1:52first bank he founded Florida choice can 1:55went on a soul-searching cross-country 1:57trip i started the bag and 99 and sold 2:00in 2006 right at the peak and 2:03got all the money and made a bunch of 2:05people a bunch of money and had a 2:07non-compete and couldn't work in the 2:09industry for a number years of my wife 2:12and I bought a little mini motor home 2:14and we put a trailer on the back of our 2:16bicycles and fishing gear we 2:18circumnavigated the country and before i 2:21left my brother gave me a book 2:24let my people go surfing which is the 2:26autobiography of the launch and are the 2:28founder of padding on your clothing and 2:31it was it was his life and how he 2:34reluctantly became a businessman and 2:38with the ethos that you could do right 2:43by doing right and and everything every 2:47element of his businesses is operated 2:49and developed into that premise and I 2:52thought well geez if he can do that a 2:53clothing industry which is pretty rough 2:56industry for environmental 2:59sustainability or regeneration of you 3:03know i can do that the banking industry 3:04banking the only thing I know so why not 3:07try it so I google green banks and that 3:10led to the concept of of first green 3:14bank and we came back and called my 3:19attorney and getting the idea and he 3:21said well yes let's go forward with it 3:24so we filed the application and went 3:27through the process of raising capital 3:29we raised a 17 point two million dollars 3:33in the worst capital environment there 3:36could ever be in 2008 and on December 3:4022nd 2008 we are granted the last bank 3:42charter ever granted in the state of 3:44Florida and there's been none sense and 3:46we just passed our 6-year anniversary in 3:50business and our financial performances 3:53in the the top quartile of all banks in 3:56the state of Florida first greenbank was 3:58indeed outperforming on a financial 4:00basis but now the hard work for a bank 4:02with a values mission lay ahead at the 4:06beginning of 2015 only about eleven 4:08percent of your screen bank's loans 4:10could be considered loans to values 4:12based businesses so now the question was 4:15could first green bank also i'll perform 4:17as a values-based bank a bank fully 4:20committed to regenerating the community 4:22and the economy in which operated in jun 4:252015 capital institute visited first 4:28green bank with Stuart Cowan 4:30Stuart uses systems thinking to help 4:33regenerate communities and organizations 4:35the ask and his staff to imagine the 4:38bank is participating in a larger story 4:41that was about Central Florida's 4:43regeneration so we're seeing the 4:46beginnings of a regenerative economy 4:48here in Central Florida that the seeds 4:51are here in a single community bank like 4:54for screen bank can be a hub can be that 4:56connection point for lots of businesses 4:58that want to work with each other i 5:02think really regenerative economy is an 5:05ecosystem organizations it's not about 5:07separate kind of visionary one-off 5:11businesses that have to figure out how 5:12to build all of this from scratch it's 5:14about that community that ecosystem of 5:17regenerative businesses they're playing 5:18off of each other they're learning from 5:20each other and they're literally 5:22exchanging materials and services its 5:25they're circulating in January 2016 5:28knowing the difficult challenges that 5:30lie ahead for first greenbank we asked 5:33in stanley Patagonia is director of 5:35philosophy to visit with Ken at his 5:38lakeside home 5:39Vincent asked him to focus on where 5:42first green was succeeding and having a 5:44regenerative impact in Central Florida 5:46and to continue to build from there in 5:49the past year and a special kind of 5:52looking forward for the period there to 5:55do the values you hold in the bank 5:58represents give you an opportunity to 6:02make a kind of loan that hasn't existed 6:05before 6:06opportunities that are kind of creative 6:08creative working in banking 6:12you couldn't have done it thank you 6:14before I well the one thing that comes 6:18to mind is our solar loan program that 6:21we offer for residential and commercial 6:23solar installations it's a product we 6:28developed in this bank but we refined it 6:31over the last seven years we just kept 6:34saying okay well what makes it 6:36irresistible what makes it where it's a 6:39no-brainer to the point where I think 6:42it's the best solar financing program in 6:45the country we never even had a 10-day 6:51delinquency in our portfolio for solar 6:54lines and I think we're about two 6:57billion dollars and how much is it a big 6:58number 6:59it's a large number of lines so we're 7:04really encouraged and by vincent also 7:08encourage can to reflect on how his deep 7:11roots in the place he was born open up a 7:13path for first greenbank to be a 7:15powerful agent for change in Central 7:18Florida i think is it from looking from 7:21the outside I think there's a really 7:22strong advantage of doing what you're 7:25doing in a place in which is really 7:27really see you you're really testing the 7:30values you've come to hold against the 7:32values of the place that you came from 7:36and you're doing something in that 7:37community that will also change over 7:39time it will change the community it 7:42will have it and they feel like notes 7:45first greenbank can be proud of more 7:48than its innovative solar and hybrid 7:50vehicle loan programs the bank also 7:52actively seeks out borrowers like you 7:55can't an organic blueberry farmer who 7:58converted his land from conventional 7:59citrus farming and is committed to 8:02living in right relationship with the 8:03land he cultivates this all started for 8:06me about 10 years ago 15 10 to 15 years 8:11ago I met Ken laro I live on a farm 8:16that's been in my family for four 8:18generations since 1890 and it was up for 8:21sale and my family decided they couldn't 8:23hold on to it anymore and i looked for a 8:24banker who would understand what I was 8:26trying to doing in buying it and and 8:30making a living from it and trying to do 8:33something a little bit different for the 8:35local economy trying to preserve a piece 8:37of Central Florida history building a 8:40solid portfolio of values-based loans 8:42like the one that first greenbank 8:44extended to you can't farm takes time 8:46and time did not appear to be on for 8:49screen bankside precious to sell the 8:52bank or Building can talk with Vincent 8:55about how his track record as a banker 8:57who turned green to gold was in many 8:59ways a double-edged sword he knew that 9:02it was raising investor expectations for 9:04a quick sale of the bank 9:05perhaps before the values mission could 9:08be fully realized one of the hardest 9:11general reference 9:12which of course I helped set from the 9:17start the the model in Florida banking 9:20is you start back to build it up and you 9:23sell their equipment and it's 9:26historically hasn't been real hard to to 9:31to land investors because that was the 9:35model and they need to look at you can 9:36calculate what the return but I'm all 9:40that trouble since fairly early on the 9:44the value proposition will go away if if 9:49the bank was to sell and so I've gone 9:52through I probably every iteration areas 9:56of what could this look like how could 9:58then was it look like at the end of the 10:00day from converting to the corporation 10:05to an IPO to seeking values align 10:10institutional investors Weatherby family 10:13office or foundation the could provide 10:19liquidity event for the people who 10:20wanted it in the bud 1 staying for 10:23longer play to try to find dance 10:28suitable dance partner that would be DS 10:30line 10:31in the values base for the institution 10:33space and I tried a bunch of already in 10:40MA happen 10:41come to fruition how should and how 10:44could a values-based bank Rome capital 10:47institute asked author and regenerative 10:50business advisor Carol Stanford to 10:52explore those possibilities with Ken 10:54than what i heard you're describing is 10:57how you really grow this business not 10:59just grow it and scale but growing in 11:03terms of what you're able to achieve as 11:05resulted because the intention is part 11:06of the growth right now you take the 11:08story what you feel how deeply you feel 11:11it and use it to grow a business so 11:13what's exciting to be as you're not 11:15going to grow in a normal that you 11:17wouldn't be the way other people would 11:19think about growth it would be this 11:21deeply embedding of the value you have 11:23and how you grow and not being torn 11:26between those just being fully on top of 11:29that and I also can hear the idea of how 11:33much you could change an absolute 11:35industry which is so our cake 11:37I mean banking is just allowance mean 11:39all that stuff is very much based on 11:42what we were doing an eighteenth-century 11:43from everything I've read and this 11:45innovation the idea of how you're going 11:47to grow by innovation is this exciting 11:49camara also ask and to experiment with 11:52creative ways to engage his staff to 11:54invite them to be true collaborators in 11:57the bank's regeneration journey I mean 11:59the other thing was fun talking with you 12:01about is what your change in how you 12:04want to engage with your team because 12:07part of what it takes to bring that 12:08focus inside is to engage all the 12:11members of you know they're not just 12:13your direct reports but everybody 12:14connecting to that and having them in 12:18that just be about you but it everybody 12:20feel like it's about the bank and it's 12:21about the bank and what it can do in the 12:23industry 12:24the research shows that if you develop 12:26people while you're engaging that means 12:29you have them grow as people you have 12:31them do reflecting on themselves you 12:33have observed what's happening to them 12:35whether 12:35working you teach of a different 12:37framework for doing and both of you are 12:39entering into a space that you're 12:41learning while you're creating and I 12:43mean learning at a personal deep level 12:45that then it goes much deeper and you 12:48get a little destabilize for the process 12:49because you're going to do something you 12:50aren't usually doing 12:52yeah but we also discovered in talking 12:55to first green bank staff was that many 12:57were yearning for that kind of exciting 12:59to stabilizing leadership that would 13:01provide a space for everyone in the bank 13:03to draw on their potential to help the 13:06bank broaden and deepen its regenerative 13:08impact in the places where it was doing 13:10business 13:11among them were two ministers they had 13:14originally been drawn to the bank 13:15because they saw it as a place where 13:17they could bring their spiritual values 13:19to the working world in a meaningful way 13:21I I see things the potential within 13:25first greenbank to change the earth is 13:27significant but all the business 13:29potential because as I said before I say 13:33again you can put signs on the wall on 13:36every wall and you can say this is a 13:37regenerative bank 13:39this is a environmentally conscious bank 13:41you can plaster those all over every 13:43wall put them in the bathrooms no break 13:45rooms in the conference rooms on the TV 13:48screens everywhere you want to they can 13:49be everywhere and get me nothing 13:52they have no power because the sign 13:54doesn't have a power doesn't speak 13:55doesn't have voice it doesn't have 13:56energy what has energy is the people 13:59that are in the building the people that 14:01are in the organization and at some 14:04point it has to get to a place where 14:06it's no longer the signs on the wall but 14:10it is the division becomes the life it 14:13becomes the blood of the organization 14:15and it literally is contagious to every 14:18person that walks in the building they 14:20don't have to see a sign that says we're 14:21jinoteur they feel it 14:24I so so before I came in the bank couple 14:27years ago 14:28actually was a united methodist minister 14:30and I did this thing called church 14:34planting and when you church plant you 14:37develop a church from from scratch i 14:40guess and you got you you talk to people 14:45about the vision of a different kind of 14:48church in the way of doing church and 14:53you you offer that vision to be bone you 14:55try to get people to come and live in to 15:00the vision and be a part of that new way 15:04of doing church and I i think that we're 15:08trying to go more here in the bank and 15:12that's the hope that I have that we can 15:14develop in this Central Florida region 15:18is that we can send tentacles out 15:21throughout Central Florida and just have 15:25people live differently because they're 15:28drinking with us John fullerton capital 15:32Institute's founder and a former Wall 15:34Street banker spoke to 24 screen Bank 15:37board members dr. robert burton and 15:39Randy stone 15:41what emerged from that conversation was 15:43that both were authentically committed 15:45to first green banks holistic values but 15:48at the same time they're struggling with 15:50the expectation that they held from the 15:51start that they would reap the financial 15:53rewards from their investment when the 15:56bank was eventually sold and I just 15:59really believe didn't get when i came to 16:03Florida afroman to single bell-bottom 16:07trousers going to get is anybody and 16:09I was gonna save the Florida alligator 16:11lake erie the bald eagle you name it i 16:13was going to do it and then found out 16:16maybe how shallow I was I got married 16:18that financial responsibilities three 16:21little boys and i went by the wayside 16:22but then i have an opportunity now to go 16:27back to those roots and yeah i'm just a 16:31lot of guys total soon as I said you 16:33know for some reason wanted to impress 16:36can not easy said that had that kind of 16:40effect on me and it's just it's good 16:42it's good synergy i think between can I 16:44John fullerton spoke up for screen bank 16:46as a precious asset it had he said a 16:49vital role to play in an economy where 16:51so much was at stake so real investments 16:55you know what we invest in and bank 16:57lending is way more important than what 17:00we spent a lot of time and attention to 17:02which is security straight so the 17:03security training to become the 17:05financial system but that's just pushing 17:08paper around between you know one 17:10another and doesn't actually translate 17:13into what changes on the ground whereas 17:17a bank you know i'm relatively small 17:19back playing for screen bank but it's 17:21actually making loans primarily into the 17:23real estate industry and you guys are 17:27way better and I but this part of the 17:28country is growing like crazy and how it 17:32grows is is really very important so the 17:35impact that Bank 17:36like for screen that can have on these 17:38issues of environmental sustainability 17:39or are remarkably significant and so so 17:45I've gone from being interested in 17:47working on sort of high finance on Wall 17:49Street to now being was more interested 17:52in real banks that are making me alone 17:55on the ground and productive real 17:57economy it takes time to build a 18:00business and and the conventional wisdom 18:04and conventional approach to community 18:06banks was just started growing itself 18:10and yet that doesn't really match with 18:13the you know twenty five-year mission of 18:16bank much less than any other confidence 18:18so now we do when we got this precious 18:21business building that maybe even 18:25through sold to let's just pick on my 18:27old friends jpmorgan chase disappeared i 18:30think they a bank with a great idea that 18:33that appeals to Millennials and people 18:36are concerned about the environment they 18:39grow quickly and in a meaningful way in 18:42a profitable way that just speaks to the 18:45greatness of the idea and so I don't 18:48think they're necessarily in conflict 18:51growth and profitability and success of 18:56the economic model yet i think it's 18:59going to be also driven by the the 19:02social model how you are you have an 19:05impact in the world you know promoting 19:07solar conservation and having a forum in 19:12which you can actually speak that truth 19:15to the rest of the world were you are 19:17more successful you are the latter your 19:19voice so i look at it that way so and as 19:25far as you know growing it is to sell it 19:27we talk about the board retreat and 19:31you know if we're going to sell we want 19:34to have those values on the same side on 19:40the other side of the table of the 19:41people 19:42quirements if they don't have maybe we 19:45can inculcate into that maybe we could 19:47impregnate them with that set of values 19:50which like lean wit unilever been a 19:53jury's need to maybe have an impact on 19:55the world that way but you know I 19:59represent a consortium of investors and 20:02we put a lot of money into this and we 20:04want to see your return 20:05so there's only three ways banks can 20:09make money in this giving dividends go 20:12public you catch the shares of stock all 20:15the benefits of that or else she can be 20:18sold and so those are three ways to 20:20create a net return on your investment 20:25so but is there another possibility of a 20:29net return on your investment that's 20:31defined and greater than financial terms 20:34David cortland an advisor to the Global 20:37Alliance for banking on values think so 20:39he talked with can about how he might 20:41begin a conversation with his investors 20:43that would define returns in terms of 20:46what you get back to your community and 20:48the world you leave behind for your 20:49children and your grandchildren there is 20:53a real question because if you hear your 20:56investors end up with shared solid 20:59return they give to their children and 21:02their grandchildren 21:03it's also real SP you been 21:0630 web and to-the-point my next question 21:11what's your trade it straight up to you 21:14want to inspire them to between what 21:17you're doing for your spirit what you're 21:19doing your pocket 21:22yeah so it's a safe financial return and 21:25a super values returned what you're 21:29doing your community today isn't 21:31thinking about meeting investor domains 21:34and then getting that inspiring to say 21:38that's that's that's what i want i want 21:41to leave my grandchildren share of stock 21:45that I know give them a solid at the 21:50same time leaves the community shape 21:52live better off with jobs with an 21:56environmentally safe and healthy 22:00first screen bank now finds itself at a 22:03fork in the road there are many possible 22:06scenarios for its future 22:08what is certain is that the women and 22:10men who have joined for a screen bank 22:13and have had a taste of a new way of 22:14banking and doing business in the world 22:16will be forever changed 22:19we're certain that they will go on to 22:20change the face of banking and to 22:23participate in new kinds of 22:24collaborative regenerative businesses 22:26that will transform the heart and soul 22:29of our economy in Central Florida and 22:31beyond 22:32but what I'm really interested in is for 22:35from the people who do the real work 22:37don't get the awards you don't go over 22:39to dinners and fancy places for meetings 22:42you know what's it like to 22:44operationalize a space regenerative 22:49agenda inside of bank in Central Florida 22:52that to be used that's really 22:54interesting 22:55I mean operationally is fantastic 22:57because we feel that we're coming to 22:59work every morning for much more than 23:01just a paycheck more to really make an 23:06impact on the community central florida 23:07specifically it's been great to see such 23:13a immediate sort of impact where you 23:15want to market it was 23:16the sort of oriented to sustainability 23:19or social responsibility on a large 23:22broad scale and maybe maybe not so 23:25obvious but here I kind of sometimes 23:27show equated to remark to desert and you 23:31just immediately see that sort of impact 23:33where the education and the influence 23:35aspect of what we do 23:37takes root almost perpetually itself it 23:42has truly been a journey for us and-and 23:47people ask all time or what 23:49what's a green bank i can tell you that 23:51whatever it is and whatever we do and 23:54whatever you do try to become a 23:56values-based or maintaining values based 23:58business is really really hard and 24:01anybody that says otherwise is is it's 24:04not being truthful or transparent