NBT Financial: A Legacy of Excellence

by Jane Burbank

Photos by Brooke Mathis: Beautiful Evolutions Photography, courtesy photo

“We want to help Burleson be a great place to live and work. It’s not just about us… it’s about this town.”

While striving to maintain its tradition of loyal, customer-focused banking, NBT Financial Bank has proudly served its customers for over 50 years and the Burleson community for over twenty-two years. Boasting customer service that “Exceeds Expectations” between each of its Texas-born branches since the 70s, this local legend has a grand story to tell.

Seated at the helm of the bustling Burleson location is Tim Southerland, the local branch’s President. Obviously passionate about NBT Financial’s community significance and offerings, Tim provides excellent details about the bank’s origins and customer benefits.

“The year was 1972,” recalls Tim, “Several businessmen and women located in the north Fort Worth area decided that the banking needs of their local community were not being met and that there was a gap left by the big banks that they needed to fill. Mr. Leonard Brantley, Sr., a local CPA, led the group of organizers and applied for a new National Bank charter. Regulators approved the application, and in November 1973, the National Bank of Texas opened its doors for business.”

While NBT Financial’s first brick-and-mortar bank is located in Fort Worth, the bank’s first President, Bill Wilson, and his son, Jim Wilson (a current shareholder and director), were both very familiar with the Burleson community. They searched and found local bankers Doug Drake and Rosie Perez and recruited them to open the second NBT branch in Burleson in 2002. This, according to Tim, created a “natural connection” which would result in NBT Financial’s eventual introduction into several more communities.

“Fast-forward to 2024,” he continues, “and the bank now has five full-service branches located in Fort Worth, Azle, Hurst, Burleson and Willow Park. “

Tim then elaborates on the dedicated owners behind the bank’s long-standing operations in our community. “Ownership of the bank has remained essentially unchanged since its inception, with many of the founding shareholders’ families still involved in ownership and oversight of the bank,” the branch president shares. “The directors of the bank are all area residents and business people, which allows them to better understand the needs of the customers we serve.” Understanding the needs of local customers is the name of NBT Financial’s game. The Bank is staffed and operated by a team of caring and devoted employees known for excellent, satisfying customer service, and relationship building.

Tim chalks up his passion for his position to his “long-time connection with the bank.” “I moved to Fort Worth in 1987,” he says. “I was working for the U.S. Treasury Department at the time as a bank examiner and the first bank assigned to me when I got here was the National Bank of Texas, now NBT Financial. So, I’ve known the owners, the presidents, the directors, the shareholders since 1987, even though I only started working here this past year.”

NBT Financial’s Burleson branch has found a passionate, devoted, and caring President in Tim, who extols the bank’s friendly and helpful attitude. “Since its beginning,” he claims, “management has focused on being a hometown bank, with hometown bankers, and remaining a community bank that serves its community. The response has been great. We’ve had steady growth and good earnings… customer response has been good. I think there will always be, hopefully, in my mind, a need for your local community banks.”

“Our desire,” he relays, “is to provide hometown banking with hometown bankers, and consequently, each location is staffed with experienced local bankers that know the customers and that also serve their communities through various civic, educational, and business organizations.”

As part of the Bank’s 50th Anniversary and celebration of their legacy, the Bank was rebranded as NBT Financial. Customers still receive the same great care and service in our local communities that they have received for 50 years. “Same ownership, just a new name,” assures Tim. “Same management team, same employees, same great customer service.”

“Since our inception,” recalls Tim, “the shareholders, management, and employees of NBT Financial have maintained the same long-term vision for the Bank. We are a locally owned, independent, community bank that intends to provide prompt, courteous service to our customers and looks to establish long-term relationships with those we serve.”

Tim spent the last 25 years serving the needs of the Burleson, Joshua, Cleburne, and surrounding Johnson County areas at another local Bank. After a brief layoff, he was coaxed out of retirement to lead the NBT Burleson team. “I’ve had a long connection with the Bank, even though I wasn’t working here until just recently,” Tim details, “and, as long as I’ve been associated with the Bank, the mission of the Bank has been one focused on being a hometown bank that serves its local community’s needs.”

Tim says, “The best part of being a banker is the relationships you build in the community. The loyalty, camaraderie, and joy of seeing others be successful. Banks all have the same products and services, so what differentiates us from the others is our great, personal customer service and the relationships we build. Seeing our customers succeed, their businesses grow, our communities thrive, and just being a part of those dreams being realized is the exciting, fulfilling part to me.”

“Through our great team at the Burleson branch, we hope to make a small difference in Burleson and surrounding areas,” he continues. “Most of the credit goes to our employees and that includes First Vice President Misty Force, First Vice President Eric Belmares, Vice President Shauna Gheen, Lending Assistant Amy Rodriguez, Branch Manager/Vice President Christie Heneghan, Personal Bankers Makayla Swink, Carla Woodard and Tyler Stone, and Vice President Business Development Officer Peggy Stephens.”

While larger, more nationwide banks tend to draw more customers due to their scale, they may also suffer from unmotivated customer service. “We’re small, and that allows us to be nimble and more flexible than, say, the bank across the street,” Tim explains. “In the banking world, there are huge, multi-national chains, large regionals and then there’s smaller, local banks. Being small, local, and with consistent ownership just allows us to be a lot more flexible. Quicker decisions, immediate responses. When customers need help, they don’t want to go through multiple layers for assistance. Being small allows us to empower our employees and give them the ability to make decisions that serve the customer.”

The Burleson area has certainly expressed a need and a fondness for NBT Financial Bank’s service. The bank enjoys glowing reviews, with Google reviewers raving about the establishment’s perma-friendly staff, who make customers feel important whether interacting in person or over the phone. The services are regarded as convenient, the staff helpful and efficient.

NBT Financial’s Burleson branch further proves its worthiness in the banking world by staying state-of-the-art. “This September,” Tim explains, “I’ll have been a banker for forty years, and banking has changed a lot. Technology has really driven so many changes in banking. Technological advances have affected almost everything we do.” Tim explains how the rising demand for technology has affected NBT Financial’s services. “Over the years we’ve seen so many improvements in things like ATM’s, the advent of the internet and subsequent online and mobile banking, cash apps and point to point transfers. And so, a lot of changes in forty years. A lot of fantastic changes… I mean, the technological advantages that have come about make it so much easier for people to bank… It’s so much more efficient, now, than the way we used to do things.”

NBT Financial has enjoyed many benefits from operating in Burleson, which it owes to its great relationship with its customers and the community. Southerland communicates his team’s desire to support the local community, whether that’s “through our lending, checking, and savings products, or through our support for charities, churches, school events and other organizations. We [are open to] donating our time, resources, making contributions or donations, and providing labor.” Such generous offers could only come from an others centered business bent on making “our little piece of the world a great place to be.”

Southerland reaffirms the bank’s commitment to exceeding expectations and customer service that builds up its local community. “To us, it’s more about helping our customers, businesses and organizations than it is just being their bank,” he beams. His suggestion, “Bank Local.”

“To me, NBT Financial is about the relationships, along with loyalty and camaraderie. You have to be a servant to be a banker. You have to have a servant attitude. You have to want to see your customers succeed.” Tim explains what truly sets NBT Financial apart from other banks in the area. “All our products and services are pretty much the same,” he divulges, “so it’s about how you present those, how you handle customers, how you meet their needs. So, it’s all about that relationship. Just being a part of [other business’s] dream realizations… That’s the exciting part to me.”

The branch president aims to be an agent of growth, helping local businesses and communities succeed. Tim cites proximity to Fort Worth as a main factor in Burleson and surrounding areas growth. Ultimately, Tim expresses optimism about the economic landscape in which NBT Financial is ingrained: “I’m excited about Burleson’s growth. Our past and present city leaders, councilmembers, business people, teachers, and volunteers have all been a huge part of Burleson’s success… It’s been a good run.”

The bank is also “involved in several

charitable boards,” according to Southerland, who helps cultivate a culture of giving back to the community.

“We encourage all of our of employees to get involved in different aspects, whether they’re just providing their time as volunteers or serving in positions of leadership. We try to get as many employees involved as we can and try to spread the budget as far as it’ll stretch, to help as many different organizations that we can here in the community.”

“We’re not just here to provide banking products and services in our communities,” he claims. “We’re also here to hopefully help our communities that we serve be the best places to live and work.” Tim reiterates his commitment to setting NBT Financial apart from the usual banking experience. “We don’t want to JUST provide banking services,” he restates. “We want to help Burleson be a great place to live and work. It’s not just about us… it’s about this town.”

If you are seeking a locally-operated bank whose hardworking leadership and employees value your time and needs, NBT Financial Bank is certain to cater. Its Burleson branch president describes his biggest personal career milestone as simply “seeing the customers succeed and their dreams realized,” which his bank accomplishes with a helping hand and a smile.

“That’s what makes me happy,” he reveals: “just being a part of their success.”