TASI® Bank: The Value of Working with a Trusted Advisor

TASI® Bank Vice President, Relationship Manager Jesus Leon Guerrero moved to Chula Vista with a set of goals in mind. Foremost was to establish a presence for TASI® Bank, which for 40 years had a single point of presence (San Francisco) for its banking activities.

A division bank of The Bank of Guam® had operated successfully and primarily with customers in the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. But TASI Bank President Dave Joves also knew that if he wanted to increase revenue that he would have to look to a larger geographic area.

Leon Guerrero was chosen to spearhead the effort. And the results have been quite remarkable. Starting with a non-existent customer base in Southern California, he relocated and immediately began to pursue opportunities in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego.

Having built a customer base in the San Francisco area, he was able to quickly provide loans and financing to three of his Northern California clients who were expanding operations into Los Angeles and San Diego. Those transactions were soon followed by deals in Pismo Beach, Forest Ranch (San Diego), Thousand Oaks, and additional activities near LAX (Los Angeles Airport).

The transactions were in the $2 million to $7 million range—a sweet spot for TASI® Bank.

“What I have been able to accomplish has occurred in several ways,” he says.

“Some came via a broker; another was the result of a chance meeting that I had at an industry conference, and another was a referral.”

That neither the Bank of Guam nor TASI Bank had any presence or name recognition in the area has not been a hurdle.

“In fact, having to explain the Bank of Guam-TASI Bank relationship has been helpful in developing relationships,” he says.

To date, Leon Guerrero’s transactions have represented a broad range of customers:

• A pre-school property
• A builder of modular homes
• Commercial property that included a cannabis operation

“I’m extremely encouraged,” he says. “There is a niche for us. I’m not surprised by the early successes.”