Fort Worth-based Trinity Bank, a commercial bank that began operations in 2003, is celebrating its 20th anniversary year. The award-winning bank has grown steadily over the past two decades and is one of only two community banks remaining in Fort Worth. To celebrate, the bank has held a series of customer appreciation days featuring food, drinks, live music and family-friendly activities. The bank plans to continue the celebration through the end of the year.
“We are grateful to our customers, shareholders and exceptional employees for their support and efforts over the past 20 years,” says Jeff Harp, founder and chairman. “As we move into our next decade, every employee of the bank has pledged to remain committed to the principles that have made us successful and different: offering the best possible products, delivered with personal, old-fashioned service by dedicated bankers who do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reason.”
Fort Worth native Matt Opitz serves as chief executive officer. He joined Trinity Bank in 2018 to help spearhead its future. “The board saw the need in 2017 to develop a three-year succession plan that was different and when I was told what it was, I was all in because the need in the market is significant,” Opitz says. “Unlike most other local banks, the plan was not to add locations and sell the bank, but to maintain the bank’s difference as a locally managed community bank as it transitions to the next generation of bank leadership. Our feelings, including Jeff’s, were that we could do more for our shareholders, our customers and our employees by continuing to be one of the strongest independent banks in the nation.”
Barney Wiley, a CPA who worked alongside Harp when the bank launched in 2003, serves as president. He notes that the bank was fortunate that “258 individuals invested in a vision 20 years ago to make a different kind of bank possible. On day one, we had no business and 13 employees. Amazingly, in 2004, we had our first profitable month, and thanks to our customers and staff, we have continued to grow year after year to meet the increasing needs of our customers and prospective customers for a more involved and personal banking relationship.”
“I am proud to be one of the original investors in Trinity Bank,” says Marvin Blum, president of the Blum Firm PC, an Austin-based estate and tax planning law firm. “From [the beginning], the bank has maintained a strong commitment to its customers and community and has played a vital role in the tremendous growth and development of Fort Worth.”
Pictured above: Jeff Harp, founder and chairman; Barney Wiley, president; Matt Opitz, CEO; and Richard Burt, executive vice president
