Liberty Bank CEO Alden McDonald Reflects on 45 Years as a ‘Cleaning Baby’
Alden McDonald was 29 years old in 1972 when he decided to help lead a small New Orleans start-up financial institution, Liberty Bank. Mc Donald remains at the helm today, overseeing more than $630 million in assets and 17 Liberty Bank locations in Louisiana and seven other states.
Mc Donald sat down with The Distillery to reflect on more than 45 years in banking, from the 1980s oil crash to Hurricane Katrina to the bank’s ongoing work helping young people buy starter homes. McDonald said he’s still motivated to “make things happen” in business, even if it means facing stiff odds.
“We’ve been able to help young people buy a home faster and earlier than the market will allow,” McDonald said.
TD: How did you get started?
AM: I got my start through a part-time job in banking at International City Bank. knew nothing about banking, but I worked long hours. I was always given things that everyone else messed up to clean up. I was a tidy child.
TD: To what do you attribute your success?
AM: Hard work, dedication and good staff. You have to work as hard as you expect your employees to work.
TD: The oil crash of the late 1980s was a difficult time for Liberty Bank. Describe the experience.
AM: It was the first time we lost money…
Sixty percent of the state’s financial institutions have failed or merged with someone else. We had eleven locally owned community banks. Only two of us survived.
The hole was getting deeper and darker every day. We didn’t know if we would make it because so many others ahead of us didn’t.
TD: How did you get out of it?
AM: My bank had problems like all the other banks. There was a credit union that failed…
[Regulators] were trying to find a solution to save this credit union. And I said, “If you give me the capital I need, I’ll get you out of this credit union problem.” That’s how I got the capital. It was the first time ever that a commercial bank bought a credit union…
I had to go all the way to Washington to get approval.
TD: What do you enjoy about business?
AM: Making things possible. Help people. Successful implementation. I recharge every time we do something new and we get it up and running.
Is freedom a good bank?
Headquartered in Middletown, Liberty Bank is the 2nd largest bank in the state of Connecticut. It is also the 195th largest bank in the country. Founded in 1825, it has grown to 689 employees in 53 locations as of June 2022. Liberty Bank has an A+ health rating.
How does Liberty Bank send money?
After creating recipients, initiate cashless payments to one or more recipients. To run a single wire, select the Wire tab and then Single module. Select the beneficiary, the financial account and the transfer date (the date the transfer is sent). Enter the amount and note and click Submit.
Is Liberty Bank Still Black Owned?
Liberty Bank and Trust Corporation is a black owned bank with branches in AL, IL, KS, KY, LA, MI, TN, MO and MS. If you don’t live near a branch, you can still open an account online from anywhere in the US.
Is Liberty Bank for Sale?
First announced on February 28, 2022, the $34.1 million all-cash acquisition combines Liberty Bank, headquartered in South San Francisco, CA, with California First National Bank DMG (“Cal First”), headquartered in Irvine, California, under the Liberty Bank name. ON. (“Liberty”) effective August 12, 2022.
Who is the #1 bank in the US?
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the US with a balance sheet total of $2.87 trillion.
The Story of Liberty State Bank
We’ve been at Liberty with our clients for 65 years. We were in it with you from your first day on the job until the day you retired. We”ve were there when you asked HR if you could take time off and when you asked your girlfriend to marry you. We were there for the birth of your children and the passing of your loved ones. He walks down the hall and out of the doctor’s rooms. We were there the night of your accident and the morning you watched the sunrise from Mt.Fuji. For more than six decades, we’ve been helping you dream it, plan it, deal with it. We were there with you. All.
From the first ever annuity sold by Sir Donald Gordon in 1957 to protecting and growing the lives of over 3.2 million people in Africa today.
It is important for us to be available to our clients at every moment of their lives, which is why we offer a comprehensive range of solutions that focus not only on the financial, but also the physical and emotional well-being of our clients. . This approach has helped us grow from a South African life insurance company to a pan-African financial services company.
Liberty is a subsidiary of The Standard Bank Group and the integration with Standard Bank provides synergies and benefits not only in South Africa but across the African continent, positioning Liberty as an integral part of a universal financial services organization focused on delivering exceptional customer experience and excellence. value.
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