Frost Bank aims to double its branch presence in the Austin area over the next three years, the company announced last week.
The San Antonio-based bank is set to open 17 financial centers in Austin, creating more than 170 jobs by the end of 2026, it said. The first of the locations opened in May.
The expansion in Texas’ capital follows similar growth efforts in Houston and Dallas. Frost opened 25 branches in Houston between 2018 and early 2022, and had planned to open eight more in the area by 2024. Frost also announced a strategy to open 28 locations in the Dallas area.
"The invaluable insights and experiences gained from our expansions in Dallas and Houston have significantly influenced our strategy for entering the Austin market," Tim Crowley, Frost Bank's Austin region president, told Banking Dive on Thursday. "While we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering exceptional customer experience, maintaining financial strength and upholding our reputation, we recognize that the Austin market possesses its distinct characteristics and dynamics."
Frost has seen record net new customer growth so far in 2023, it said. And it counts $5.8 billion in deposits in the Austin market — enough for an 8.2% share, putting it in fourth place behind JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
"You hear a lot of narrative that, 'Well, regionals can't compete with [national banks],'" Frost CEO Phil Green said on the bank’s first-quarter earnings call, according to American Banker. "We can and we have been."
The $51.2 billion-asset bank already has 17 financial centers in the Austin area, with roughly 350 employees.
"Had we not been demonstrating that we were growing organically consistent with what the largest banks were doing, [expansion] wouldn't have been as viable a strategy. It would have been more based on hope," Green said in April 2022.
"These strong results reflect the enduring soundness of our business model and provide further evidence that our organic growth strategy is both durable and scalable," Green said in the bank’s most recent earnings report.
