Harlingen-based Texas Regional Bank has announced the launch of TRB Financial, a new core banking division that expands access to relationship banking through differentiated credit strategies, ongoing financial education and integrated community partnerships. TRB Financial’s first dedicated banking center, located at 332 Jefferson Blvd. in Oak Cliff, began serving customers on August 26.
Citing an FDIC report, the Texas Department of Banking notes that Texas has a significant banking access gap and one of the nation’s highest percentages of unbanked or underbanked households. TRB Financial is designed for individuals, families and small-business owners whose financial circumstances may not align with traditional banking criteria. It provides a full banking relationship while creating a genuine pathway for customers to build financial history, strengthen their credit and grow into the bank’s broader range of products over time.
To expand access to credit, TRB Financial is developing consumer and small-business lending options for qualified borrowers who may demonstrate repayment capacity despite falling outside conventional credit criteria. The products will apply differentiated underwriting standards intended to broaden access while maintaining prudent credit and repayment requirements.
Gene Tremplay, president of TRB Financial in Oak CliffOngoing financial education supports that progression. TRB Financial will provide recurring instruction on credit, borrowing, financial documentation and other fundamentals that can help individuals, families and business owners improve their financial readiness and better understand the requirements for future financing.
TRB Financial is building direct partnerships with community organizations, nonprofits, employers, churches and economic development leaders to connect customers with additional resources and capital. These relationships create a network of support extending well beyond banking. That strategy is already taking shape through TRB’s support of The Banker’s Blueprint: Access to Capital, an eight-week Dallas initiative led by the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, its Venture Forward Accelerator and Empowered CEO Institute, in collaboration with Dallas College. The program helps growth-stage business owners strengthen financial and credit profiles and prepare lender-ready capital packages.
Oak Cliff was selected as TRB Financial’s first market amid continued investment and redevelopment along Jefferson Blvd. and the surrounding commercial corridors. The City of Dallas has maintained a long-term economic development strategy for the area centered on redevelopment, growth and stabilization, including continued public investment through the Oak Cliff Gateway Tax Increment Financing District. Gene Tremblay serves as president of TRB Financial and leads the division and Oak Cliff team.
“TRB Financial allows us to expand into communities with limited access to financial services and provide a more accessible path to the products, guidance and relationships that support economic progress,” says Michael Scaief, chairman and CEO of Texas Regional Bank. “Oak Cliff is the first step in a strategy we intend to build over time.”
Oak Cliff is the first dedicated TRB Financial location, but the strategy extends to other communities TRB serves. Consumer and small-business lending products are available through TRB banking centers across its footprint, while Oak Cliff establishes the operating model for future TRB Financial expansion.
Established in 2010, Texas Regional Bank has more than 38 locations across the Rio Grande Valley, Texas Hill Country, Houston and the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
