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| Additional information |
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| Encore Bank, N.A. |
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History:
Encore Bank was founded as Guardian Savings and Loan of Dallas in 1928. In September 2000, our current Chief Executive Officer, James S. D’Agostino, Jr., led a group of primarily local Houston investors in our acquisition of Guardian for $8.0 million. At the closing of the acquisition, we recapitalized our company with $25.0 million. At the time of the acquisition, Guardian’s balance sheet was comprised primarily of investment securities and purchased loans funded principally by borrowings and certificates of deposit originated through brokers or our 24 branch offices in Atlanta, Boston, Kansas City and St. Louis, and one Houston location.
Starting in September 2000, our new management team took action to transform the bank by aligning its assets and liabilities with our business strategies. We changed the name of the bank to Encore Bank in September 2001. We targeted professional firms, privately-owned businesses, investors and affluent individuals as clients, and initiated our strategy of providing them with superior service in a “private banking” environment. In four separate transactions in the period from December 2001 to September 2003, we sold all 24 branches located outside our target markets, disposing of $674.9 million in deposits and $50.8 million in real estate. While divesting these branches, we established new private client offices in our target markets. By December 2003, we had opened nine new private client offices in Texas and southwest Florida. We also recruited new lending officers and began changing our asset mix, replacing lower yielding investment securities and purchased mortgage loans with our own higher yielding originated loans. On the liability side, we actively solicited deposits, replacing brokered deposits with core deposits. We now have 15 private client offices in our target markets.
In addition to building out our core banking platform, we have also completed and integrated the following series of acquisitions to add wealth management and insurance services to our product offering:
Insurance. On April 30, 2004, we acquired Town & Country. The agency, with offices in Houston and Galveston and approximately 8,870 clients, sells property and casualty insurance and is one of the largest independent agencies in the Houston area and has a clientele that matches our target demographic. On January 1, 2005, Town & Country purchased certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of the Bumstead Insurance Agency, further enhancing the agency’s penetration of affluent households.
Trust. On March 31, 2005, we acquired National Fiduciary Services, N.A. and renamed the entity Encore Trust Company, N.A., which subsequently became a division of Encore Bank (Encore Trust) as of June 30, 2007. Encore Trust provides personal trust services in the greater Houston metropolitan area, Dallas and Austin, Texas.
Investment Management and Financial Planning. On August 31, 2005, we acquired Linscomb & Williams. One of the most respected and long-standing financial firms in Houston, Linscomb & Williams has provided objective, fee-based investment management and financial planning services since 1971. |
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| Toll Free:
+1 800 308 6709 |
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