Gulf Coast Bank & Trust offers a wide selection of personal and business banking services to the communities in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and surrounding Southeast Louisiana areas, including checking and savings accounts with online and mobile banking options, as well as personal loans, home loans, business loans, and trust and brokerage services.
“What sets Gulf Coast Bank apart is that we offer good old fashioned customer service, combined with the latest technology and an ease of doing business,” says Diane Brehm, Retail Regional Manager – Northshore/Baton Rouge Market. “We have products for both large corporate entities as well as small businesses and offer a wide range of cash management services for business clients supported by a team of professionals in our Business Solutions Department.”
A community bank first and foremost, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust prides itself on hiring local talent like Randy Benfield, a Commercial Lending Vice-President who sought out the bank’s culture of innovation and customer service.
“I saw the impact the bank was making in our community, and I wanted to be somewhere that would allow me to give my clients the best experience possible,” says Benfield. “We have a strong sense of community at our bank. Any time I see our name associated with the many charities, schools, and other organizations we are associated with I am very proud.”
At Gulf Coast Bank & Trust, a motto instilled by Bank President/CEO Guy Williams is the guiding light for a team of banking professionals devoted to serving you: do the right thing for every client, every time.
“Gulf Coast Bank is a true community bank. Our Executives are local, they understand the culture and needs of our communities,” says Brehm. “When a hurricane makes landfall in our region, we know what our consumers and business clients need. Our bank is often the first to reopen following a storm, whether cash for gasoline, groceries, or cashing paychecks for your employees.”
For Gulf Coast Bank & Trust, charitable outreach is a companywide culture fostered by their team members who have taken their philanthropic responsibilities to heart for their Northshore neighbors.
“My wife, some friends, and I founded a charitable golf tournament, ‘More than Fore,’” says Benfield. “We raise awareness and funding for pediatric cancer. In the last four years, we have raised $200,000 to donate to St. Jude and to help local families with unexpected costs associated with a recent pediatric cancer diagnosis.”
One of the largest bank-wide initiatives is Auctions in August. For an entire month, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust is devoted to supporting and managing an auction for nonprofits, who receive 100% of the profits. This program, hosted for its seventeenth year now, has had a lasting impact on the community, with Gulf Coast Bank & Trust assisting in raising $1,493,000 (nearly $1.5 million).
“Almost every weekend you will find Gulf Coast bankers volunteering within our communities; handing out fans and koozies at school fairs, assisting at registration tables for nonprofit events, racing pigs, or lifting a hammer to help build a Habitat House.” says Brehm. “This our community, this is where we live and raise our children. We want our communities to thrive.”
