Outside Voices: Phil Bravo of Cogent Bank on innovation at community banks
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Outside Voices: Phil Bravo of Cogent Bank on innovation at community banks

Jacksonville Business Journal

By Phil Bravo – First Coast Market President of Cogent Bank

May 30, 2024

ee / Publishd May 2024

The corporate world is welcoming more and more innovative and nontraditional industries, ranging from AI-backed startups to private jet charters. 

However, for many of these businesses, there are often roadblocks to financing or finding the right banking partner, but the answer to their problems is often closer to home than they might think. 

The best advice I could give to a business, whether traditional or nontraditional, is to find a bank that truly understands your organization, and I suggest you start with a community bank.

Quite simply, what makes a community bank so special is its knowledge of and impact on the communities it serves. Throughout my career, I have worked for and alongside banks of all shapes and sizes, and I can say from experience that a community bank provides invaluable and incomparable local knowledge and client service. 

After all, a team of bankers who live and operate locally to your business know firsthand the challenges and opportunities you and your organization face every day. When you bank at a community bank, you are directly supporting the local economy your business operates in––something you can’t be certain of when banking at a regional or national bank. 

At Cogent Bank, we are constantly putting money back into the community by lending locally and donating to various charities and nonprofits based in and around Jacksonville. Many community banks also benefit from seasoned locally based professionals. Cogent’s Jacksonville banking center has garnered more than 250 years of combined local experience, benefitting from the knowledge and expertise of its chairman of the board,

Lee Hanna, who has more than 40-years of banking experience and served in various executive positions for Barnett Bank, Inc. 

Joining Hanna is Scott Flanders, a fifth generation Jacksonville native with more than 30 years of experience and Jim Miller who has more than 45-years’ experience and served as a Jacksonville community bank CEO for 15 years prior to joining Cogent. Our Jacksonville-based advisory board includes a number of local leaders — a defining factor for Cogent and many other community banks. 

There are, unfortunately, plenty of misconceptions that plague community banks. 

Foremost, there is a belief that community banks do not invest in technology, which couldn’t be further from the truth. 

In fact, at Cogent, we are adamant about being on the cutting edge of technology, evidenced by our investment in a variety of technologies which rival that of regional and national banks. Additionally, community banks are often considered narrow in the scope of services they offer and expected to only serve traditional industries. 

However, community banks are constantly expanding their portfolio of specialty services to help niche organizations that help local economies thrive. 

Within the past few years, we’ve assembled teams of bankers who specialize in a variety of traditional and nontraditional industries, including, Association Banking, Business Aviation, Sport and Entertainment, Cannabis Banking, Attorneys and Law Firms, SBA and USDA Lending, to name a few. 

The Cogent Bank Difference

At Cogent Bank, we are dedicated to serving the industries and technologies of tomorrow while embracing the unique benefits only a community bank can provide. Simultaneously, we’ve continued to invest in industry-leading technology to keep our products modern and convenient while maintaining the core values our client’s demand: trust, availability, local expertise and unmatched client service. 

I’m proud to be a part of our seasoned team of Jacksonville bankers as we continue to challenge the perceptions of the capabilities of a community bank.