Branch Spotlight: PlainsCapital’s Shoreline Branch Creates Recipe for Success in Coastal Bend Region

You might say a successful bank branch is like a tasty sandwich. The branch staff and lenders are the ingredients that make up a great recipe for customers to experience and enjoy. PlainsCapital Bank Coastal Bend Region Chairman Frank Hastings knows what it takes to make that perfect recipe come to life at the Shoreline branch in Corpus Christi. And it turns out sandwiches really are a part of its story.

From Franchise Lender to Franchisee

Rewind to 2003. Hastings was working for Texas State Bank in Corpus Christi as a commercial lender. At the time, a fellow Texas State Bank colleague, David Barganski, was part of the credit training program in McAllen and was soon after hired to move to Corpus Christi to join Hastings and his team. The two continued to work together as Texas State Bank got acquired by BBVA.

Barganski had spent much of his time in franchise lending. After years on that side of the desk, he decided to leave banking in 2011 to try out franchising on his own. He opened two Firehouse Subs franchises and needed a bank for his business. PlainsCapital was there to help. PlainsCapital Bank acquired the First National Bank of Edinburg branches in Coastal Bend in 2013. Shortly after, Hastings was hired at PlainsCapital with commercial lenders Mark LaRue and Marc Hinojosa. The team continues to work together today at the Shoreline branch, which opened in 2015.

Leaving Sandwiches Behind

As the team got settled into the Shoreline branch, Barganski continued to partner with PlainsCapital for his banking needs while he ran the sandwich franchises. But Hastings wanted more than just his banking business.

“He paid off his loans early, and I was trying to encourage him to join us and come back to banking,” Hastings says. “Fortunately, I was able to convince him.”

In 2021, Barganski sold the sandwich shops and came back to banking with Hastings and the team at PlainsCapital. Today, Barganski serves as senior vice president of commercial lending for the Coastal Bend region.

“Being a franchisee was an adjustment, but it allowed me to sit on the other side of the desk to see what borrowers are looking for,” he says. “I banked at PlainsCapital because Frank, and everyone here, provided that type of service for me. It was a natural fit for me to come back and treat our customers and borrowers like they treated me when I was franchisee.”

The Strength of its Lenders

The Shoreline team recently welcomed Ché Goff as executive vice president of commercial lending. He joins the commercial lending team of Hastings, Barganski, LaRue, Hinojosa, and Lisa Kennedy. In addition, the branch has two credit analysts, four lending assistants, the branch manager, and two tellers. Goff’s hiring was a full-circle moment for Hastings.

“I actually interviewed Ché in 2013 for BBVA before I left,” Hastings says. “Ché led the commercial lending group at BBVA until finally joining us this year. He, David, and I got a taste of the large bank feel. It was something that really attracted me to Ché and David. I knew they would succeed here.”

Hastings says the strength of its commercial lending team is what sets PlainsCapital’s Shoreline branch apart from other banks in Corpus Christi. The combination of big bank experience with a community feel gives them a leg up on competition.

“We don’t compete with the big banks because they aren’t here in Corpus Christi,” Hastings explains. “We’re competing with the other community banks. Their lending teams can’t hold a candle to our group.”

“PlainsCapital is the perfect size bank, and to have people like Frank and David here makes the transition easier,” Goff says. “Having worked for a large bank, I got exposed to different capabilities. The fact that Frank and David have also worked with larger banks and are familiar with that expertise puts us above the other banks in the market. Just being able to have those conversations with clients gives us a leg up on our smaller-bank competition around here.”

Giving Back to Coastal Bend

The Shoreline branch takes pride in its involvement in the Coastal Bend community.

“When we opened the Shoreline location, we had this huge grand opening party,” Hastings says. “At the event, we started an endowed scholarship in finance at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. On top of that, we’ve contributed $100,000 between 2017 and 2021 to our local children’s hospital.”

Individually, the Shoreline branch bankers serve on many local charitable and community organizations’ boards—Coastal Bend Food Bank, The Purple Door, Rise School, Texas State Aquarium, USS Lexington Museum, Buc Days, Leadership Corpus Christi, and the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Business Advisory Council.

“It’s important for people to be able to put a face to the name on the side of the building,” Barganski says. “Folks that see us out and about realize we live next door to them. We’re rolling up our sleeves and trying to make the community a better place. We’re there to serve them but also the community, too. It allows them to see us as people, not just bankers.”

If you’re in Corpus Christi, stop by to visit the team at the PlainsCapital branch at 500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Ste 200 Corpus Christi, TX 78401.