During First Year in Atlanta, Pinnacle Financial Partners Builds Strong Asset Base, Veteran Team Of 26

Atlanta President Rob Garcia: “We capitalized on our potential and built exactly the bank we wanted.”

Pinnacle Financial Partners accomplished four significant milestones in its first year in Atlanta:Established and built out its main office at 3333 Riverwood Parkway, with a second location on the horizonReached $275 million in local loan commitments as of Dec. 31, 2020, including:$111 million outstanding$125 million in unfunded commitments$39 million of PPP lending in GeorgiaGathered $112 million in local depositsHired 22 new associates, including 14 revenue producers, for a total team of 26

Pinnacle entered the Atlanta market in late December 2019 by hiring a team of local financial leaders to start a new bank operation and build a team of the best bankers in the market. Despite the headwinds of a global pandemic, economic downturn and contentious civic and political environment, the startup group built a strong asset base and a team that can offer full suite of financial services.

“When we started Pinnacle in Atlanta a year ago, we knew the potential,” said Rob Garcia, Pinnacle’s Atlanta president. “Our market launch was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow a new, locally focused bank that could deliver better service to clients while taking market share from our competitors. Despite all that 2020 threw at us, we have capitalized on that potential and built exactly the bank we wanted. We’re still a work in progress and have a lot more growing to do, but we now have the team and foundation to get us there.”

Financial Success

In Pinnacle’s fourth quarter 2020 earnings announcement, the firm reported $111.1 million in local loans outstanding and $112.7 million in local deposits in Atlanta, as of Dec. 31, 2020. That’s in addition to another $125 million in unfunded commitments and $39 million of Paycheck Protection Program loans in Georgia for a total of $275 million in local lending.

These milestones were achieved with just a single office in the market. Pinnacle’s Atlanta location grew throughout 2020 from a small temporary space to a permanent retail office and then added 5,800 square feet of office space on the fifth floor. The firm is now engaged in negotiations for a second office, this time in Buckhead.

Building a Team

Pinnacle added 14 Atlanta associates in late 2020 and early 2021, capping a year of incredible growth that saw the firm balloon from its four initial associates one year ago to 26 associates today. The 14 latest additions bring an average of more than 24 years of experience and come from institutions like Wells Fargo, Truist, Synovus, Renasant, Regions and Ameris Bank. All will be based at the firm’s office at 3333 Riverwood Parkway.

Seven of the newest associates include veteran commercial bankers, credit advisors, a treasury management product specialist and front-line support for lending and the retail bank.Jim Snead,senior credit officer coming from Wells Fargo with 46 years of experienceBaimba Norman, financial advisor coming from Wells Fargo with 20 years of experienceDaniel Coogle, financial advisor coming from Wells Fargo with seven years of experienceAndy Gago, credit advisor coming from Truist with 40 years of experienceLaura Sadri, credit advisor coming from Wells Fargo with seven years of experienceCheryl Dougherty, treasury management analyst coming from Synovus with 25 years of experience. She joins treasury management advisorChad Parsons, who came to Pinnacle in April with 26 years of experienceJamie Cantrell, financial advisor assistant coming from Renasant with 26 years of experienceRachel Higgins, financial specialist coming from Regions with 24 years of experience

“This team is going to turbo charge our growth and advance our reputation of offering distinctive service to Atlanta,” Garcia said. “They also bear out Pinnacle’s successful business model of competing against the country’s largest megabanks by recruiting their most talented bankers and best clients.”

In addition, Pinnacle has hired six experienced SBA financial professionals from Ameris Bank to build a strong team that specializes in government guaranteed lending.Katrina Winberg, SBA area manager with 30 years of experienceTom Koether, financial advisor with 35 years of experienceBrian Martin, financial advisor with 34 years of experienceGarrett Delk, SBA credit advisor with 15 years of experienceMin Hee Yeo, SBA closing advisor with 18 years of experienceLauren Liner, SBA closing advisor with 13 years of experience

“The Small Business Administration has perhaps never been more important to central banking operations than it is right now,” said Paige Collier, senior lending officer. “Pinnacle lent $2.4 billion through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program in 2020, and on top of that had its best year ever in traditional SBA lending. The SBA’s programs are critical tools in helping businesses grow, and this team has an incredible track record of serving their clients. They will help us build a top-tier SBA program in Atlanta.”

To learn more about all 14 new associates, visit PNFP.com .

Pinnacle Financial Partners provides a full range of banking, investment, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services designed for businesses and their owners and individuals interested in a comprehensive relationship with their financial institution. Pinnacle earned a spot on FORTUNE's 2020 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S., its fourth consecutive appearance.American Bankerrecognized Pinnacle as one of America’s Best Banks to Work For eight years in a row and No. 1 among banks with more than $10 billion in assets.

Pinnacle expanded to Georgia in 2019 by hiring a team of local financial services professionals to start an office in Atlanta.

The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville, TN in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $34.9 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2020. As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 12 primarily urban markets in Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia and Atlanta.

Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com .