Business

A look at the people behind the numbers in area business

September 23, 2012 at 10:57PM

A look at the people behind the numbers in area business:

TOM NAUGHTIN MIDCOUNTRY BANK

Title: Senior vice president of retail banking

Age: 59

Veteran Twin Cities banking executive Tom Naughtin, the new senior vice president of retail banking at MidCountry Bank's Bloomington headquarters, is eager to help meet what he sees as an increased demand for loans.

The increase, Naughtin said, coincides with a strong growth push at MidCountry, a full-service community bank founded in 2003 that has a regional presence in Minnesota, southern Illinois and Nevada.

"We're a bank that is well capitalized, we have money to lend and we're spending a lot of time focused on driving new loan business," Naughtin said.

Naughtin has more than 30 years of banking experience, most recently serving as prinicpal at CAMELS Risk Management. He previously was executive vice president of retail banking at Bremer Bank and also spent 23 years in sales management with U.S. Bank. In his new role, Naughtin oversees MidCountry's financial services division, directing branch operations, consumer lending and sales.

The MidCountry opportunity embodies what Naughtin said has propelled him in his banking career: building strong teams internally and interacting with customers.

In this case, joining MidCountry also represents a reunion for Naughtin with executive team leaders he had worked with previously, including MidCountry president and CEO Steve Meads.

"I have a high degree of respect for those people and having the opportunity to work with them was very exciting," Naughtin said.

Q What do you like about working at a smaller bank?

A Some smaller banks have more of an opportunity to get ingrained with the communities they're involved with. The big things is, we're nimble and should be able to respond quickly, make decisions and get back to customers quicker than maybe a larger bank might be able to.

Q What sorts of things are you doing to support the loan-making process?

A We're trying to get the right tools in the hands of the branches to beef up our consumer lending. We're also working on new software to make sure that we've got a quicker, simpler process to be able to grant consumer loans, with the idea of being able to make sure that we are easier to do business with and more responsive.

Q Why should a business or consumer bring their business to MidCountry?

A We spend a fair amount of time to get to know the customer better and understand their needs. Understand what type of business they have and what needs can be met from both a business and a personal perspective.