Q&A with Robert R. Yohanan, CEO of First Bank & Trust
An interview with Robert R. Yohanan, managing director and CEO of First Bank & Trust, based in Evanston.
Q: What's new at your company?
A: We are celebrating 20 years since our founding and are preparing, via long range planning, for the next 20 years. Having sailed through the Great Recession untouched, we are setting new highs in earnings, total assets, loans, funds under management and customer satisfaction. It has been extremely gratifying seeing the bank grow in service of our core constituencies.
Q: What's the hottest trend in your industry?
A: Witnessing how many banks want to enter the commercial and industrial lending business, without sufficient knowledge, expertise or qualified personnel. Many banks lost big time in real estate lending during the last financial crisis and they are looking to middle market lending as their salvation.
Q: Do you have a business mantra?
A: Focus, focus, focus. Prior to the start of the recent financial crisis we had no idea of what would happen to the real estate market because we had very few real estate loans and those that we had were owner occupied. Our total focus was on working capital loans to middle market companies. Had it not been for that focus we would have suffered the same fate as the other banks. Instead, we came through the crisis untouched and didn't have to take a dollar of government money.
Q: From a business outlook, who do you look up to?
A: Bob Abboud, former chairman of First Chicago Bank, would be my man. He hired me into the international department out of graduate school and the Navy and instilled in me the key qualities of leadership — clear thinking, open-mindedness, loyalty both upward and down, how to set goals and achieve those and how to bring the best out of people. Bob made a huge positive impact on me.
Q: What is one interesting fact about you or your company that most people may not know?
A: We did not miss a beat during the financial crisis. Didn't take a dollar of government money; never took a brokered deposit and made money every year throughout the crisis.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: I really enjoy being with my wife and family and, since getting a FITBIT, I am addicted to getting as many steps in a day as possible.
Q: What book is on your nightstand?
A: “Pillars of the Earth.” It's a treatise on how one man's determination can overcome nearly any obstacle and, along with the Sinatra song, “That's Life,” is a frequent motivator to overcome challenges that may surface.
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: I sleep like a baby. My wife, on the other hand, would likely say, “Robert's snoring.”
Q: What was your first paying job?
A: At the age of 15 I worked in the shipping room and offloaded trailer trucks carrying large barrels of compound at the Harry Davies Molding Company in, Chicago. It was really tough work for a young kid but the kindness of the older workers kept me going. The shipping manager, Joe, was a big motivator and consistently pushed me to get a higher education.
Q: If you could put your company name on a sports venue, which one would you choose?
A: As a former Midshipman my first choice would have to be the Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. A close second would be Soldier Field. But in reality, I would rather invest in quality employees, local communities and a strong loan portfolio.
Q: What is one funny thing that has happened to you in your career?
A: After nearly getting shot down over Damascus on a commercial flight from Tehran to Beirut in 1970 while serving in the Middle East with First National Bank of Chicago, I receive a telex from a colleague in Chicago saying, “Now don't think you are going to get hazardous duty pay from here on out.”
Q: What will your company's main challenge be in the next year?
A: We foresee our biggest challenge as contending with competitor insanity in quoting low fixed rates on loans and compromising good credit standards.
he prolonged low rate environment has, in our opinion, deluded many banks into thinking rates will remain low indefinitely. This, of course, will not be the case and we prefer not to play in the low fixed rate market for loans. Moreover, many banks have eased credit standards, for example, by relaxing personal guarantees and covenants, in order to attract business. Experience has taught us to stay true to our approach to lending. Both of these phenomena have limited the number of credit worthy loans available in the marketplace at rates we find acceptable.
— Kim Mikus