By Molly Parker
Staff Writer

Peter Bristow’s first day in his new downtown corporate banking office was one of those August days that could melt the suit right off you.

With the air conditioner broken on the fourth floor of The People’s Building on 18 Broad St., it was nearly the same temperature inside as outside.

Bristow went home, had a cup of coffee, exchanged his business attire for a T-shirt and khaki shorts, and headed back to the office. 

“I have work to do,” he said in his office-turned-sauna, brushing off the dilemma. “I couldn’t stay home.”

Bristow is the president and chief operating officer of First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. of South Carolina and executive vice president and director of its parent company, First Citizens Bancorporation Inc.

As bank president, Bristow is responsible for day-to-day management of all line functions for the bank. He’ll continue in that role in Charleston, reporting to First Citizens Chairman and CEO Jim Apple.

He recently persuaded his board of directors to let him relocate from the bank’s Columbia headquarters to Charleston as part of a long-term strategy to boost business along the coastline.

The move is a throwback of sorts, Bristow explained, to the locally focused banking practices of earlier eras. Customers, he said, want “bankers that (they) know, good, localized decision-making and excellent customer service.”

First Citizens has been offering that service to the Lowcountry since its first branches went up here in the 1970s, he said, but a top corporate presence in the area will enhance and expedite its customer service.

“At the end of the day, people want to deal with a decision-maker,” said Bristow, 41. “It brings value when you can sit at the table with a client and make a decision on the spot as opposed to going back and asking for permission. Especially in banking … It’s a very big

competitive advantage.

Moving a member of top management away from company headquarters to directly oversee a cluster of lucrative bank branches may seem curious to some, but it isn’t all that unusual, Bristow said.  “In the age of Blackberry and technology, you’re seeing more and more of this.”

Bristow said the board was a bit reluctant at first to move him because members were concerned about communication logistics. Videoconferencing and a separate phone line to Apple resolved the issue. 

“If that one’s ringing, I’m picking it up,” Bristow said of the phone.

For Bristow, the heat is on, not just in his office. He’s also been charged with growing First Citizens’ $550 million deposit base in the increasingly competitive tri-county area. That means highlighting the strength of a bank in the “middle,” as Bristow put it, one that is large enough to serve corporate and large private customers while still maintaining the approach of a community bank.

He sees potential to grow the market here by offering customers the type of service they would receive from locally headquartered banks where top management is on hand to negotiate terms and answer customer questions.

“What we say is, ‘Use common sense. Don’t let the machine substitute for the relationship and what’s good.’” he cautioned. “We’re not tossing our credit process out the window. But if a customer says, ‘I don’t like this about your term sheet,’ in today’s environment, the teller’s going to say, ‘Let me go ask.’”

In addition to opening its new corporate office, Bristow said, the bank is looking to boost its image by building new branches and renovating existing ones. The company may also look to acquire outside branches, he said. 

First Citizens has 165 branches in South Carolina and Georgia, and combined consolidated assets of $6.08 billion. The bank has grown its assets roughly $2.29 billion, or 60%, in less than five years, Bristow said.

In Charleston County, First Citizens operates 13 branches with a combined $250 million in bank deposits as of June 30. The Broad Street office is not advertised as a branch, but customers can set up accounts there and cash checks, he said.

Though his office is here now, Bristow said he is likely to be out in the field more often these days than he was in the past. The mobility, he said, will allow him to keep closer tabs on the needs of his employees and customers located throughout the area. 

Bristow and his wife Claire have three children and live in downtown Charleston.

Molly Parker is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her directly at mparker@charlestonbusiness.com.  

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