The Bank Of San Antonio’s Growth Spurs New Headquarters
The Bank of San Antonio is building a new headquarters as the 8-year-old local bank has outgrown its leased space in Northwest San Antonio.
Since 2007, the locally owned bank has been carving out a niche as a commercial bank focused on small businesses in the Alamo City. During that time, it has grown from an initial $25 million in capital to more than $500 million, while expanding into the insurance and wealth management sectors. Now with 90-plus people spread across multiple divisions, the bank is ready to leave behind its space in The Forum Building at 8000 Interstate 10 W. for a permanent headquarters.
The bank’s future 57,000-square-foot office will be at 1900 N.W. Loop 410, with construction expected to be completed by June 2016. It will house the Bank of San Antonio and its two nonbank subsidiaries, Bank of San Antonio Insurance Group and San Antonio Capital & Trust.
The bank has become the fourth largest in San Antonio, said chairman and founder J. Bruce Bugg.
“Our growth just demonstrates the need that San Antonio had for a business-oriented, locally owned bank,” he said.
Chesney Morales & Associates of San Antonio is the architect for the building, with interior design by LK Design Group, also of San Antonio. The building is being built by local company Metropolitan Contracting Co., and Project Control, another local name, will be the project manager.
Brent Given, president and CEO of Bank of San Antonio, credits the bank’s rapid growth to its focus on the small-business sector that makes up 90 percent of the business community in San Antonio.
“We did not want to compete with the big banks for the consumer market, and so we focused on small and medium-sized businesses,” he said. “We made sure that we had the technology to offer the same level of service as the big banks and that we had enough capital to make big loans.”
The financial collapse in 2008 — not long after the bank opened its doors — actually put the Bank of San Antonio at an advantage. With $25 million in capital and no bad loans, it was ready and able to pick up clients. Also, it knew what kinds of deals to put on the back burner.
Today, the bank offers comprehensive services for its business customers, including banking, insurance and wealth management.
“I think we have been a well-kept secret in San Antonio,” Bugg said. “But now we are ready to make a statement and put out a beacon, so to speak, that we are here and ready to serve the community.”