At MountainOne, Trust is the Key to Success with Commercial Clients

Matthew Lauro wants to find out everything there is to know about your business. As a Senior Vice President of commercial lending at MountainOne, he prepares his clients for any storm they may weather by careful planning and attention to detail.

Before moving his life to the Berkshires, Lauro spent a decade in Corporate and Investment banking within the greater Boston area. Like many others, he sought a change in a post-pandemic world that would allow him to utilize his experience in credit analysis, portfolio management and new business development. When he met MountainOne CEO Bob Fraser, he knew he had found a company culture that suited him perfectly.

“Bob Fraser is a very successful commercial lender himself,” said Lauro, “And our commercial clients know Bob, and know he’s a key decision maker. Our commercial culture stems from Bob’s vast experience and leadership.”

When Lauro, Fraser, and Senior Commercial Risk Officer Richard Kelly sit down with their combined hundred-odd years of experience, they’re also working off of countless conversations with their clients to give a hyper-tailored approach.

“After hours and hours spent with the customer's business, we'd like to think we know the customer's business, maybe not as well as they do, but pretty close!” said Lauro. He spends each day fostering his relationships with business owners, lawyers, and CPAs so that he’s well equipped to assist clients every step of the way within their business journeys.

A Catered Approach for Every Business

Working under the catch-all of commercial lending means handling the needs of a wide variety of clients, whether it’s a corporate client looking to discuss strategy, a real estate developer seeking a mortgage or a growing small business that needs to expand their line of credit.

“For a small business customer, there’s more time spent on teaching the customer about banking procedure and protocol.” Lauro explained, “There’s an education emphasis on helping them better understand their financials, and helping them understand what they’ll need for a successful banking relationship.”

With a larger commercial client, Lauro’s focus is on keeping the bigger picture in sight: “We spend a lot of time quarterly to understand what their goals are, and what their approach is going to be for the coming years.”

Keeping the bigger picture in mind at MountainOne includes consideration of the local economy as a whole; and Lauro intends to know all the key players in order to explore how they may be beneficial to each other.

“The role of a banker, it's really kind of an arbiter, right?” said Lauro, “You need to be in the center of all things. You want to know how a business is doing. You want to be able to have hard conversations. Because of that, our clients really trust us. That's what you really need in a good bank and client relationship: trust.”

Looking to The Future

It takes more than knowing one particular client’s business in and out to set them up for success. Lauro’s clients place tremendous value on his insights and predictions about the current market.

Lauro isn’t one to beat around the bush on potential economic stressors: “It's a very unprecedented time right now. Not just Berkshire County, but the entire macro is very cloudy. We have tremendous geopolitical risk. You have roughly a 500 basis point difference between where prime was two years ago, to where it is now. And that has major impact on a commercial client. If they have a working line of capital, their cost of borrowing has almost tripled in the last two years.”

Lauro knows that managing cost is at the front of a business owner’s mind, whether it’s the rising premiums for raw materials or labor. The key to success in hard times is planning early; by getting ahead of these stressors, there may even be room for real growth.

“What we're doing as a bank is proactively speaking with our clients. By doing that we’re getting in front of any turmoil in the future.” said Lauro, “And this environment could present an opportunity for some commercial clients as well. It's not all bad when you're in uncertain times. You just have to be prepared, and you need a good lender on your side to be able to provide that type of capital when you do need it.”

When you’re in the business of protecting against the future, you can’t have technology that lives in the past. MountainOne knows firsthand the importance of keeping up with the times. The bank has recently launched an all-new, omni-channel digital banking platform to meet clients where they are, whether that’s in the office or on the go via mobile device.

“It's a 24/7 world, so we have to be able to deliver that type of information in a very streamlined product,” Lauro said of the new tech. “I think it shows the amount of investment that we have in the bank and bettering ourselves.”

Supporting the Community on Every Level

The culture of MountainOne isn’t just focused on bettering their clients, or bettering their own business practices; when the communities they work and live in thrive, everybody wins.

“We're not a stock-based bank, so we don't have shareholders or pay a dividend.” Lauro explains, “Our dividend paid is really back to the community in the form of donations. So the more successful MountainOne is, the more successful we can be in contributing back to the community.”

MountainOne’s community dividend grants support a number of nonprofit organizations, and welcome more to apply every day. The bank’s focus areas include affordable housing initiatives, youth sports and activities, arts and culture, veterans’ services and other community needs. Over the past summer alone, they’ve supported nature conservation efforts, Pride events, cultural festivals and more.

It’s not just MountainOne as an institution that gives back. Their Mountaineers are deeply integrated with the community as volunteers and board members, and it comes from the top down.

Like many in leadership positions at MountainOne, Matt Lauro dedicates his time to community initiatives that matter to him: “I am a member of the Pittsfield Affordable Housing Trust, a board member of Berkshire Education and Correction and a board member of Grit and Gratitude Wrestling Academy. My wife, Susanna,” he adds, “is a board member of Berkshire Humane Society.”

“It's all part of the same economic cycle, right? We're all generating different success to the economy, allowing it to continue to evolve and develop.” said Lauro of the importance of supporting different community initiatives.

What’s Next for MountainOne?

Since joining the MountainOne team, Matt Lauro has not only found a new community to be involved in and a happy home for his wife, two dogs and infant daughter; he’s invested in a company with a bright future.

“Every day is so exciting. We've had a tremendous year in 2023 onboarding new clientele. And we already have some really exciting projects and clients coming on board in 2024.” said Lauro, “We've been able to contribute a lot back to our balance sheet, which ensures MountainOne can continue to support the projects that we've engaged in. It also ensures that we're able to hire and retain the best staff.”

The prospect of being able to draw in new blood is something that Lauro finds particularly exciting. MountainOne currently has a five-person commercial staff in Berkshire County and anticipates expanding that number in the next year. “If you can bring new talent to an area, if you can continue to help an area grow through product development and helping commercial clientele, that ensures that you have a really healthy economy.”