At a special meeting on Sept. 5, 2001, the boards from UNB and BancFirst unanimously adopted resolutions approving and authorizing for execution of the merger. Shareholders endorsed the merger March 7, 2002. Unizan, funny name and all, was launched.
A Fremont, Ohio-native, Mann served two tours in Vietnam aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer, then settled in San Diego, where he founded two banks which were later acquired by larger financial services companies.
Mann spent 20 years in San Diego before he was recruited by Bank One in Cleveland in 1991, and was hired by UNB in 1997.
"I’ve had more fun in the last six years with UNB and Unizan than in all my other 30 years," Mann says. "The people of Ohio have a great work ethic. We used to have a joke in Southern California that if the surf was up, you’d have two or three people who would call in sick. Whereas here you could have a foot of snow, and everybody makes it.
"The Midwestern values have a lot going for them."
For the 720 employees of the newly-formed Unizan Financial Corp., the first 90 days after the merger was announced were not so fun. Mann says everyone worked long hours to integrate systems, set up its retail call center, create a Business Solutions Center in Canton and roll out a massive marketing campaign.
"It was amazing going through the process," Mann says. "Every day there was something different. For the first six months, there would be phone calls, e-mails would fly in. Not just about the name, but everything."
During such a radical change as a merger, there’s a danger of losing customers in the transition. That’s when you have to focus customer contact so there’s no slip up in service, Mann says.
"Let’s say you need working capital," he explains. "That decision is made close to the customer, so it doesn’t have to go to up to Cleveland or elsewhere. Not all organizations have that model.
"A lot them have what is known as centralized underwriting, so that somebody will take your financial information and ship it to a center in New York, or wherever."
Recently, banks similar to Unizan in the central part of the United States are benefiting from being more agile, and in some cases are grabbing market share from larger competitors, according to Covington.
"The larger banks, who maybe don’t care about the million dollar credits, or just can’t provide that level of service that some of the small businesses need or want," he says, "they’re losing out."
Although Unizan was the Small Business Administration’s top lender in the state last year, interest rates fluctuations are beating up banks that are too reliant on loan-based income.
SBA lending will continue to be a growth area, but Mann says he wants to build on Unizan’s other niche businesses, like its trust operations, wealth management, insurance and title services, to protect the bank.
"There’s a real growth in areas we call noninterest income areas," he says. "We currently generate about 22 percent of our income from noninterest income. As we continue to diversify, I would like to see that percentage increase.
"Obviously, the more income you can generate that’s outside of that interest margin, the less you’re locked in to interest rate volatility."
Likewise, don’t expect Unizan to maintain only 45 branches in Ohio, either. Again, Mann grabs the road map.
"Take a look at the state of Ohio," he says. "You’ve got 75 to 71 to 77, north and south, and 70 going east and west. We have significant opportunity just to fill in our footprint. Columbus is not land-locked, it doesn’t have water on any side, same way over in Dayton. We really like where we’re located."
The merger is just over a year old. Now, it will be up to Mann to prove that he and his leaders can outhustle the competition and fill in that footprint. With more companies, not just banks, lending money, the market looks to be more competitive than ever.
"What differentiates small community banks from other ones? The difference is the management teams," Covington says. "Most companies of this size are doing the exact thing as their competitors, and the difference is you have to find the management teams that can execute and deliver for shareholders. And these guys have demonstrated that in past and they’re going to keep demonstrating it."
HOW TO REACH: Unizan Financial Corp. (330) 438-1118 or www.unizan.com
