Content area
Full Text
In his nearly 20 years at the helm of TCF Financial Corp., Bill Cooper has built a retail banking power by targeting the working-class consumer he dubbed "Joe Lunch Bucket." Now, he's targeting Joe's employer for growth opportunities.
TCF Bank, a subsidiary of Wayzata-based TCF Financial, recently hired veteran U.S. Bank executive John Besse to run its Minnesota commercial banking operations. Besse leads TCFs efforts to further penetrate underserved middle-market businesses with credit needs in the $1 million to $10 million range, said Cooper, TCF Financial chairman and CEO.
It's a market that's "kind of below the radar screens of most of the bigger banks," Cooper said. In the Twin Cities, the only banks bigger than TCF are Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, San Francisco. Associated Bank, Bremer Bank and M&I Bank round out the top six local players.
Though some of TCF's largest competitors are competing for the same commercial business, Cooper said TCF can capture market share by working harder than the competition.
"They're all there," Cooper said. "It's not like someone walked away from the business."
TCF has served small- and middle-market businesses for years. However, commercial business - excluding commercial real estate, leasing and equipment finance - constitutes only about 5 percent of its $6.8 billion loan portfolio and has been relatively flat for years.
"This is definitely on the low side for a commercial bank," said Lana Chan, a banking analyst who covers TCF at New Yorkbased Advest Inc. "The average commercial bank has somewhere between 20 to 25 percent of commercial loans."
Building on a foundation
At U.S. Bank, Besse led a group that focused on Fortune 500 and other large Midwest corporations....