Latest news with #Geddes
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Frost CFO: ‘We are that stable bank in Texas'
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter. When Dan Geddes interviewed at Frost Bank nearly three decades ago, he met with people who'd been at the bank for 28 years – a stark contrast to other banks where he interviewed, whose employees had far shorter tenures. Geddes himself has now been at the San Antonio-based lender for 28 years and, at the beginning of the year, filled the chief financial officer seat vacated by Jerry Salinas, who retired at the end of 2024. 'I remember thinking, 'I've got to find out why people stay here so long,' and now I'm that person that's been here forever,' said Geddes, who comes to the CFO role by way of the commercial bank, rather than accounting or finance. 'It just doesn't happen very much anymore in most industries and most companies.' To Geddes, it speaks to the culture of the 157-year-old bank, and preserving that culture as the bank has expanded across the state is a top priority, he said during a recent interview. 'We are that stable bank in Texas,' he said in a recent interview. Amid recent deadly flash flooding, parts of Texas undoubtedly are seeking stability. To that end, the lender's Hill Country branches will direct a $500,000 grant from the Frost Bank Charitable Foundation to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country's Kerr County Flood Relief Fund and other local flood-relief efforts, the bank said Tuesday. Communities in the county, including Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram, are among the hardest hit after torrential downpours last Thursday sent the Guadalupe River surging 22 feet in flooding that killed at least 110 people, while as many as 173 more remained missing as of Wednesday. 'There are so many of us at Frost who know someone who either was affected by the disaster or who is connected in some way with the affected people and communities,' said Hill Country market president Kevin Thompson in a news release. 'We're heartbroken by the devastation, and our hearts go out to the families of those who died or were injured.' Frost is making emergency disaster loans available to borrowers, and contacting customers in affected areas to discuss ways to temporarily defer loan payments if needed. Frost has a branch in Boerne – in neighboring Kendall County, which also saw flash flooding last week – and is building new locations in Kerrville and Fredericksburg. Frost's operations were unaffected and the $52 billion-asset bank's branches remain open, a spokesperson said. Consistency and dependability have been key to Frost's identity, Geddes indicated. When other banks have taken more aggressive pricing structures during robust economic times, Frost has lost some deals, he said, 'but we more than make up for it when there is uncertainty.' Prospects were much more willing to talk to Frost during tougher times, when others had backed away, Geddes said. In pursuing organic growth, CEO Phil Green 'has shown the willingness to make investments to help support long-term growth, instead of being overly focused on quarterly earnings or chasing the flavor of the month in banking,' D.A. Davidson analyst Peter Winter wrote in a recent note. The bank is keeping its head down on its expansion strategy, and remains definitively uninterested in M&A, Geddes said. 'We get to recruit the bankers that want to be with us, not the ones that we inherited,' Geddes said. 'We get to bring in customers that chose us, not that we bought and we're trying to maintain. And we get to choose the locations; we're not stuck with the locations of the bank that we bought.' Frost also maintains better control of its culture and avoids the distraction of systems integrations that acquisitions require, he asserted. Although the bank may someday pursue expansion outside Texas as it inches toward $100 billion in assets, Geddes said Frost has plenty of room to grow within the state. The bank is only scratching the surface in the state's biggest markets, Houston and Dallas, in terms of deposits, Geddes said. In Houston, Frost has about 5% of bank branch share, but only 2.5% deposit market share; in Dallas, Frost has a 3.6% branch share and about 1% deposit market share, Geddes said. By comparison, Frost has a 10% branch share and 27% deposit market share in San Antonio and a 9% branch share and 25% market share in Corpus Christi, Geddes noted. Frost is 'planting trees, not corn,' and the expansion strategy requires patience, bank executives have said. The bank has close to 200 branches across the state. The average age of new branches in Houston is about five years, while Dallas is about two years and Austin – where the bank said in 2023 it planned to double its branch presence – is less than one. After four years, the bank generally starts reaping what's been sown, Geddes said. In most of Frost's markets, money center banks have about 50% or more of the market share, he said. Frost gets about half of its new commercial relationships from those banks, seeking to compete by focusing on customer service, personal touch and the ability to talk to decision-makers. Frost also recruits experienced talent from those big banks and smaller lenders, but is less interested in acquiring teams of bankers. 'We don't look to bring over teams. We find that that can create little subcultures within your organization,' he said. 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Metro
01-07-2025
- Metro
Google Maps lets you blur your house - here's why you should do it
Used by over 1,000,000,000 people every month, Google Maps helps tourists, drivers and commuters find their way around. But the navigation tool has one relatively unknown feature which could be crucial for keeping you and your family safe. Google Street View provides panoramic images of streets all around the world, captured by cameras on cars that drive around public roads. Experts are warning that Street View makes it possible for 'anyone from burglars through to stalkers' to peek at someone's property. So some recommend users start blurring their homes on Street View, a service of Google Maps, to reduce their risk of becoming a target. Security expert Will Geddes told Metro that criminals could use Google Maps to scope out properties and form plans to break in. He said: 'Blurring your house prevents anybody from getting any really specific information or intelligence on it. 'This includes what the features are, how many windows, how many floors, and any possible security on the property, such as CCTV cameras.' Another way robbers and thieves use Google Street View is to assess the value of any properties they are thinking of targeting. Geddes explained: 'If you have a photograph of the property, you could make a fairly good accurate assessment for how much that property might be worth. 'Another thing that Google Maps might potentially capture is vehicles, the types of vehicles that are outside. 'It might show that you've got a BMW or a Mercedes or whatever, it might be parked outside.' The security pro says choosing to blur your home would be a 'personal security' step and a 'good thing'. Anyone looking to obscure their home on Street View needs to first find their property on the map. Then they can click 'Report a problem' in the lower right corner. This will bring up a short form that allows users to specify the area they want blurred. More Trending Google says that once a place is blurred, it cannot be reversed. The tech giant says on a support webpage: 'We'll review your report as fast as we can. 'If you entered your email address in the form, we may contact you to get additional information or to update you on the status of your report.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Man 'dismembered' couple and froze remains before dumping them off bridge MORE: Parents smoked cigarettes while nurses tried to revive dying baby MORE: Human leg washes up on beach 80 miles from missing man's body
Vancouver Sun
17-06-2025
- General
- Vancouver Sun
128-year-old shipwreck on Vancouver Island charred by fire
A shipwreck that has been part of Vancouver Island's history for more than a century is a charred skeleton after a fire this month. Photographer Geoff Johnson said he went to look after hearing of the fire at the wreck that has been sitting on Big Beach in Ucluelet for almost 130 years. 'It was really dramatic,' recalled Johnson in an interview, adding that the wooden wreckage seemed to be 'more corpse-like now than it was before.' Ucluelet fire chief Rick Geddes said crews attended the fire in the early morning of June 10, and that the cause of the blaze is being investigated. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The shipwreck suffered 'significant damage' from the fire, although it's still very much intact, Geddes said. 'It's not uncommon for us to get called to beach fires that have been abandoned overnight,' said Geddes, 'But it was somewhat uncommon for us to attend and have an issue with actual wreckage of this ship that's been on the beach for 100 plus years.' The history of the vessel, where it sailed from, and how it was stranded, has been lost. An information plaque set up next to the wreck says it's believe the ship was swept ashore by storms in 1896. The plaque says the ship was probably built somewhere on the northwest coast of the Americas in the mid- to late 1800s, based on its Douglas fir timber, wooden pegs and iron 'drift-pin' fastenings. There's no name, no destination and no hint if it was intentionally grounded and disassembled to build houses, or if it was a victim of a storm, Johnson said about the history of the vessel, which is just a block from his home. 'So, that's part of the interesting story, is that anybody you know can make up what they think the story that shipwreck was about, and it makes it a little bit more of a romantic thing to sit there and look at and think about.' Johnson said he's grown to love the beachside artifact and it was 'gut-wrenching' to see in burned. He would use it as a seat to take sunset photos, and sitting there felt like hanging out with a 'friend who had just been in a bad accident,' he said. The West Coast of Vancouver Island has been called the 'Graveyard of the Pacific' for its long history of storms bringing ships into the rocky shores. In 1906 the SS Valencia, en route to Victoria from San Francisco, struck a reef off Vancouver Island, killing 136 people. It is one of the deadliest shipwrecks in B.C.'s history. Anya Zanko, events and development manager with Maritime Museum of BC, said the tragedy spurred public outrage, and led to the construction of a telegraph line and trial along Vancouver Island's coast. The Dominion Lifesaving Trail was taken over by the Pacific Rim Park Reserve in 1973 and was renamed the West Coast Trail, Zanko said. The trail is now a popular hiking destination. Geddes said they want people to enjoy the beauty of the beach, but it's important that people are also responsible and ensure their fires are out before leaving the beach. Johnson said the shipwreck is now more than a reminder of the treacherous storms in the region. 'And the idea that somebody might have started this fire, and it could easily spread a block to my home, is really the lesson.' The fire chief said it's unclear what caused the fire, although they aren't aware of any lightning strikes in the area around that time. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Winnipeg Free Press
17-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
128-year-old shipwreck on Vancouver Island charred by fire
A shipwreck that has been part of Vancouver Island's history for more than a century is a charred skeleton after a fire earlier this month. Photographer Geoff Johnson said he went to look after hearing of the fire at the wreck that has been sitting on Big Beach in Ucluelet for almost 130 years. 'It was really dramatic,' recalled Johnson in an interview, adding that the wooden wreckage seemed to be 'more corpse-like now than it was before.' Ucluelet fire Chief Rick Geddes said crews attended the fire in the early morning of June 10 and the cause of the blaze is being investigated. The shipwreck suffered 'significant damage' from the fire, although it's still very much intact, Geddes said. 'It's not uncommon for us to get called to beach fires that have been abandoned overnight,' said Geddes, 'But it was somewhat uncommon for us to attend and have an issue with actual wreckage of this ship that's been on the beach for 100 plus years.' The history of the vessel, where it sailed from, and how it was stranded, has been lost. An information plaque set up next to the wreck says it's believe the ship was swept ashore by storms in 1896. The plaque says the ship was probably built somewhere on the northwest coast of the Americas in the mid- to late 1800s, based on its Douglas fir timber, wooden pegs and iron 'drift-pin' fastenings. There's no name, no destination and no hint if it was intentionally grounded and disassembled to build houses, or if it was a victim of a storm, Johnson said about the history of the vessel, which is just a block from his home. 'So, that's part of the interesting story, is that anybody you know can make up what they think the story that shipwreck was about, and it makes it a little bit more of a romantic thing to sit there and look at and think about.' Johnson said he's grown to love the beachside artifact and it was 'gut-wrenching' to see in burned. He would use it as a seat to take sunset photos and sitting there felt like hanging out with a 'friend who had just been in a bad accident,' he said. The West Coast of Vancouver Island has been called the 'Graveyard of the Pacific' for its long history of storms bringing ships into the rocky shores. In 1906, the SS Valencia en route to Victoria from San Francisco, struck a reef off Vancouver Island, killing 136 people. It is one of the deadliest shipwrecks in B.C.'s history. Anya Zanko, events and development manager with Maritime Museum of BC, said the tragedy spurred public outrage, and led to the construction of a telegraph line and trial along Vancouver Island's coast. The Dominion Lifesaving Trail was taken over by the Pacific Rim Park Reserve in 1973 and was renamed the West Coast Trail, Zanko said. The trial is now a popular hiking destination. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Geddes said they want people to enjoy the beauty of the beach, but it's important that people are also responsible and ensure their fires are out before leaving the beach. Johnson said the shipwreck is now more than a reminder of the treacherous storms in the region. 'And the idea that somebody might have started this fire, and it could easily spread a block to my home, is really the lesson.' The fire chief said it's unclear what caused the fire, although they aren't aware of any lightning strikes in the area around that time. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June, 17, 2025.
Scoop
13-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Whakatāne Operators At War With Council Over Tourism Funding Cuts
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Tourism operators across the district are boycotting Whakatne District Council for cutting funding to Tourism Bay of Plenty. Tourism operators across the district are boycotting Whakatāne District Council for cutting funding to Tourism Bay of Plenty. The Whakatāne council has previously contributed $85,000 annually to the council controlled organisation of Tauranga City and Western Bay District councils. In response, a group of tourism operators across the district are boycotting all council-led tourism activity. This includes directing that all of their businesses be removed from council websites, that brochures and experiences be removed from the Whakatane i-Site, refusing to participate in promotional campaigns, event partnerships, and famils (familiarisation trips for agents) and calling for a full independent audit of the Whakatāne i-site and council tourism department. Among the tourism operators supporting the boycott are Tio Ohiwa Harbour Cruises and Oyster Experience owner Wini Geddes, Kohutapu Lodge and Whirinaki Footsteps Nadine Toe Toe, Larni Hepi from Whaitaki, KG Kayaks' Kenny McCracken, Beachpoint Apartments' Alison Stern, One 88 On Commerce's Malcolm Glen, Awakeri Rail Adventures Paul Francis and Takutai Adventure Company's Ollie Dobbin. Geddes said that more than 44 tourism operators and accommodation providers from around the Eastern Bay of Plenty would be hurt by Whakatāne council withdrawing this funding. The contribution linked them to domestic and international tourism promotion through Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Māori Tourism. The boycotters said the $85,000 amounted to 2.8 percent of the council's annual $3 million tourism budget and a mere 0.14 percent of its $59 million total annual operating budget. Quoting Stats NZ, they said the region received $166 million in visitor spend annually, with approximately $20 million of that from international visitors. More than 10 percent of the workforce in Eastern Bay was through tourism. Geddes said the decision had been made in public-excluded meetings with no consultation or communication with local tourist operators. 'We've only known about it for a month and the decision was made before Christmas with no consultation with the tourist operators at all.' She said all of Tio Ohiwa's business came through either Tourism Bay of Plenty or support from other Regional Tourism Operators around the country, in particular RotoruaNZ, a CCO of Rotorua Lakes District Council, which Whakatāne council did not pay into. 'In two weeks' time our connection to Tourism New Zealand will be cancelled and [the council] are trying to take it over by themselves.' A response from council chief executive Steven Perdia to a Local Goverment Official Information and Meetings Act request sent by two of the operators, Toe Toe and Hepi, said Whakatāne council had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and funding agreement with Tourism Bay of Plenty in 2014, but since this had expired in 2019 no further MOU had been developed. The organisations had operated under a Letter of Intent to develop a revised MOU but 'since the Whakaari eruption and Covid 19 and the catastrophic effects on the community and visitor economy with several business closures, both organisations have continued to work together in good faith'. He said the council had a strong desire to reduce rates' increases and during last year's long-term plan budget funding was stopped to both economic development agency Toi EDA and Tourism Bay of Plenty. In a public-excluded section of its living together committee on 6 March this year, the council discussed reviewing the MOU with Tourism Bay of Plenty but to make cost savings decided to bring all tourism-related support in-house. Perdia told Local Democracy Reporting the matters were discussed in a public-excluded forum because the debate involved commercially sensitive matters, including contracts and funding agreements with third parties. 'Council is trying to make itself a regional transport operator,' Geddes said. 'It has got no strategic plan, nothing, and they're expecting us to teach them how to get into the industry.' Among the benefits of being part of Tourism Bay of Plenty was being included in the Bay of Plenty section of the Trenz Expo, New Zealand's biggest tourism trade show. 'We are now taking bookings from China, India and the rest of Asia, Europe and the United States from those expos. Even our accomodation providers. We fill our hotels with tourists coming in. '[Whakatāne council] can't even get tickets to it.' The council did not respond to questions from the Beacon around how it intended to promote the district to international tourists. Geddes said some tourism operators had already removed their brochures from the i-site. Toe Toe said the council shouldn't be making critical decisions in a field they didn't understand. 'Tourism operators were completely left out in the cold around a decision that directly affects our businesses and survival.' Stern, from Beachpoint Apartments, said she felt the decision was very shortsighted and would end up costing the council more in the long run. 'If they don't want to focus on international tourism, then why are they planning to do exactly that – just without the professionals?' she said. 'And how do they think they'll do it better for less than $85,000? This is going to end up costing the ratepayers more, not less.'
