A true relationship story
John Rego. I am the chief financial officer of WideOpenWest, sometimes called WOW, which is an internet and cable provider based in Denver, Colorado.
I used to be, as a young guy, impressed with banks, meaning the name of the bank. And there were two banks in particular who had the most renowned names in banks, and everybody had to have one or both of these banks in everything they did. And as I got older and wiser, I became less impressed with banks and more impressed with bankers.
My introduction to Key was a dear friend of mine and the best banker I've ever worked with in my life. And he decided he was gonna go with Key and try to do something different and work more middle market kind of accounts and stuff. And so he called upon me, came to the office, he came to see me, and that was my introduction to KeyBank literally about 10 years ago.
Again, it's been a very interesting relationship, and it's been a relationship where we've made money together, but it's more than that, you know, and what I really liked about the bank and this particular banker, and we all seem to be cut from the same ilk as this young man, is that they're really partners to our business.
You know, I've known so many bankers who are showing up to collect a fee when that time is here, but very few bankers who like bringing ideas or thoughts or been thinking about it or, "Hey John, you guys are gonna be going to the debt market in the next 6 months. Let me introduce you to our debt banker. And she'll just give you kind of a sense of, you know, what's out there and how to think about that. And like that's like, didn't ask, you know, just came forward with that, and I think that there's something really to be said for that, to have someone be that thoughtful.
They used to say in the olden days that, like, a lot of investment bankers used to say, "I'm a relationship banker." You know, it's like a term, "I'm a relationship banker." It's like an over builder. I'm a relationship banker, but my experience with the KeyBank bankers is that they actually are relationship bankers. It doesn't have to be a fee. Let's build on this.
And it's been wonderful.
"As a young leader, I used to be impressed with banks ... but as I have gotten older and wiser, I am more impressed with the bankers ... my experience with the KeyBank bankers is that they actually are relationship bankers."
John Rego