What keeps Frank Sorrentino up at night? It’s the question of culture — maintaining “the same level of entrepreneurial spirit in the company as the company continues to grow,” he says on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast. Sorrentino is the chairman and CEO of ConnectOne Bank, a $5.1 billion community bank in New Jersey and New York that he founded in 2005.
“It’s really about the people that you bring into the organization,” says Sorrentino. “It’s about being disciplined about what you do. It’s about creating a culture where those who adopt that culture thrive and those that don’t you have to move out very quickly.”
Sorrentino also discusses partnerships between banks and fintech companies — ConnectOne Bank was one of the first, and smallest, banks to be part of the initial rollout group for Zelle, and built out a new loan and deposit origination system with nCino. “It’s going to give our team tools to reduce that friction that I think begins to occur when banks get to a certain size.”
He also discusses how he navigated new regulatory thresholds as ConnectOne Bank grew from de novo status, how the bank managed as a young institution during the financial crisis and where we are in the economic cycle.
If you can’t see the audio player above, click here to listen to this week’s episode.
In this episode:
Chairman and CEO
ConnectOne Bank
Senior Counsel
ABA
Editor-in-Chief
ABA Banking Journal
