Tampa native brings creativity to regional banking

Taking risks is rarely a good thing in the banking world, but one Tampa native has built his career by finding creative, out-of-the-box ways to get deals done. 

“We bring a little creativity to banking, which is our right to win in this market,” says Ben Powers. “Working with our team to build solutions that work for our clients is the best part of my job.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Powers leads Valley Bank’s corporate and middle-market banking group for Florida’s west coast, based out of Tampa. His responsibilities include managing a sales team and overseeing new deals, existing relationships and the broader commercial banking needs of the bank’s customers. New Jersey-based Valley Bank has $66.23 billion in assets. 

Since joining Valley Bank in July 2016, when it was USAmeriBank, Powers has rapidly climbed the ranks and helped transform the local team from a two-person corporate banking operation into a team serving 20 clients and generating $250 million in new loans/credit facilities. (Valley acquired USAmeriBank parent USAmeriBancorp in an $816 million deal that closed Jan. 1, 2018.) 

“Banking can be a pretty boring, down-the-middle business, but in order for Valley Bank to succeed we usually have to think outside the box and be one step ahead of our competition,” Powers says. “That kind of goes back to working with my team internally and creating one-of-a-kind solutions that work for that specific client.”

That persistence reflects a lesson Powers learned from his mentor, veteran Tampa banker and USAmeriBancorp founder Joseph Chillura: “Find a way, make a way.”

Powers worked directly with Chillura for five years and credits him with teaching him “everything there is about banking.” Chillura also modeled for the budding young banker how to compete while remaining a good partner to clients and the community.

“Joseph’s a true leader in every sense of the word,” Powers says. “He is a culture carrier and builder, and it’s one thing that I’ve watched and seen and now I’m trying to implement in my own way.”

That ability to cultivate a strong team is particularly important in Florida’s crowded banking industry.

“There’s a ton of banks in Florida and more that want to get in,” Powers says. “So every deal, every relationship is a competitive situation for our team.”

Away from the office, Powers has spent eight years on the board of Mary Lee’s House, Hillsborough County’s child protection and advocacy center, where he also serves on the finance committee. He chairs the Leadership Tampa Alumni Association’s sponsorship committee and has also been involved with First Tee Tampa Bay for more than a decade.

Powers, a University of Florida finance graduate, lives in Tampa with his wife, Libby, and their three young sons: Robbie, Wesley and Reid. His approach to fatherhood, community service and banking all stem from yet another lesson passed down by Chillura, he says: “Say what you do, and do what you say.”