May 3, 2025 / VOLUME NO. 364

Ties Required

I still remember the interview. Thomas Broughton III, the chairman and CEO of $18.6 billion ServisFirst Bancshares, had assembled members of his executive team into a conference room. I was on a video screen. Noting how well dressed they were, I asked him if they had dressed in suits and ties because of the interview. Several people shook their heads. 

No, Broughton told me. They wear ties every workday. There’s no casual Friday at ServisFirst in Birmingham, Alabama, where average high temperatures exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August. Other markets where ServisFirst does business have autonomy to decide their dress, but the Birmingham market once tried casual Fridays and ended it. Broughton got discouraged by the wrinkled khakis and jeans. 

Broughton and his team may exemplify conservative dress, but they also use a conservative and simple business model. Rather than having a large branch network and trying to serve the needs of all people, they have few branches and focus on customers who own their own businesses. The efficiency ratio last year was 37.6%, meaning it generated $1 revenue with 37.6 cents of expenses. Return on assets was 1.4%, and return on equity was 14.9%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

Usually, a customer can get a preliminary approval within hours of applying for a loan and before going through a lengthier underwriting process. “We’re doing deals and helping clients, and they don’t forget that,” said executive vice president Bart McBride, speaking back in 2023 for a profile about ServisFirst in Bank Director’s RankingBanking report. 

In addition, the bank has taken a conservative approach to entering new markets. ServisFirst hires top performers and grows into the markets where they reside, rather than deciding to expand into geographies and then trying to hire bankers. So far, it’s worked. ServisFirst has been a top 25 bank in Bank Director’s RankingBanking for several years. 

Broughton will be among the bankers and consultants coming to Bank Director’s Bank C-Suite Summit, which starts with pre-conference events Sunday. Broughton and others will speak about leadership, talent, strategy, technology and creating shareholder value. I assume he will wear a tie. 

• Naomi Snyder, editor-in-chief of Bank Director

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