Vic Grout has been promoted to Chief Banking Officer at Greer State Bank furthering positioning the bank for the future.
April Staggs, a Greer native, joined the bank as Vice President and Commercial Lender.
Rick Danner assumed the role of Senior Director of Marketing. He was over Human Resources until it was outsourced.
Grout will be responsible for driving efforts in all sales and service areas of the bank, coordinating plans to meet bank objectives, and pursuing methods designed to improve overall service to customers.
“Vic is a highly skilled banker who knows how to relate well to customers,” said George Burdette, President and CEO. “With his leadership, we will continue to build on our strengths of serving the local community with outstanding service. We look forward to the results Vic will bring to this key position within the bank.”
Grout’s promotion essentially allows Burdette to plan and execute the bank’s long-range plans while Grout’s focus will be day-to-day. “The President/CEO has a hard time having to spend a lot of time with the daily operations. This allows the responsibilities to be split and (George) can look two-three years ahead and plan five-years or more in advance,” Grout said.
Within Grout’s responsibilities, the bank said he will promote a team approach among departments to meet all customers banking needs and service expectations.
“My passion has always been to enhance and deepen customer relationships,” Grout said. “I will be responsible for all customer contact from all points. It’s strictly front line.”
Grout served as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer since 2006. “I was responsible for everything under the commercial side of the bank . . . the lender, products and services,” Grout said. “It was a blast.”
Grout’s promotion continues Greer State Bank’s strategy of moving forward as its continuing role as the community bank of Greer. Burdette was named President and CEO of the bank in November last year. He replaced R. Dennis Hennett, who retired for the second time.
Jim Boyd was promoted to VP Commercial Banking and Rick Danner assumed the role of Senior Director of Marketing. April Staggs, a Greer native, joined the bank as Vice President and Commercial Lender. Danner was head of human resources until it was outsourced earlier this year.
“We are poised for the future,” Grout said. “April was a strategic hire. The exposure of the bank improved overnight and she has opened a lot of doors already for us.
“(Danner) is much more than business development. His network is phenomenal throughout the state, national and international markets,” Grout said.
Grout said Greer State Bank will stay true to its mission. “We’re not going to get into a bidding war with the major banks who can offer mass pricing. We can’t do it at that scale. But we can reach out to our businesses and new residents moving into our area and say, ‘try us out.’”
Grout said there is no physical expansion planned for the bank but said the technology has allowed Greer State Bank to expand its services. On Monday the bank launched a new website. “The theory is that the brick and mortar industry is dying,” said Grout. “Our industry has changed so much. People want convenience and we can provide that online. We also can provide a relationship between the customer and the bank.”
Grout has been involved in the Greer community having served as past Chairman of the Board for the Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce and as a board member for the Greater Greer Education Foundation. He has 34 years of banking experience joining Greer State Bank in 2005. He earned a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Furman University.