When you walk through the doors of Great Plains Bank at Northwest 13th Street and Dewey Avenue, you may have to take a step back to make sure you’re in the right place. None of the normal attributes of a bank greet you in the lobby — there are no drive-through windows, tellers or safe-deposit boxes.
Instead, you’ll find a friendly group of banking professionals working in an office designed with informal meeting spaces, decorated with paintings by local artists. This is definitely a departure from the traditional bank model but a great fit for the Midtown location, a thriving area of Oklahoma City known for its local and diverse businesses.
Branch president: ‘A need for something different’
The new branch begins a venture into the metro for Great Plains Bank, with the modern style reflecting the vision of branch president Matthew Scantlin.
“I saw a need for something different that would attract both younger people that are often overlooked by other banks as well as offer something more laid back for business owners and investors,” said Scantlin. “Midtown seemed to be the perfect location for many reasons: It’s centrally located, a growing area for businesses and housing, easily accessible and it’s close to downtown.”
Scantlin has been in banking for more than 10 years. Starting the new Midtown branch from scratch is the result of his years of banking knowledge, where he’s served in a variety of positions — from teller to a branch manager, loan officer, credit analyst, business lender and now branch president.
Local businesses on board with Great Plains
Scantlin is working alongside loan officer Curt McKamie, who has already established Great Plains Bank relationships with many local business like Empire Slice House, Revolución Taqueria & Cantina and Goro Ramen (all part of 84 Hospitality Group).
“Working with Great Plains Bank has been one of the easier decisions we’ve made, especially with their new centralized Midtown location,” said Rachel Cope, CEO of 84 Hospitality Group. “Their quick response times and commitment to making sure each customer or business gets personalized attention is really what caught our eye. I’ve also really enjoyed seeing GPB reach out to the local community to find out what they can do to be a great teammate to OKC. They are setting a fantastic example for other businesses to model.”
Scantlin and McKamie have a fun dynamic and bring a great deal of enthusiasm to this new style of relationship banking. Together they are looking to grow their customer base throughout downtown Oklahoma City.
“We are both here to assist customers in any way possible, focusing on providing a more personalized level of service,” said Scantlin. “We primarily deal with business development, but we’re here to help and do whatever is needed for all of our customers.”
Relationships make the difference
Although the branch looks and feels different, it offers all services a normal bank can offer, including commercial loans, personal loans, transactions, business and personal accounts, and mortgages.
However, Great Plains Bank prides itself on one key difference — its relationships.
“We are much more focused on relationships than just providing a loan for someone,” said McKamie. “We view our relationships with customers as more of a partnership and truly care about their overall success, not just if they pay us back on time. This allows us to develop long term relationships with customers, a lot of whom become good friends.”
Merging modern sensibilities with old-fashioned values
While Great Plains Bank is new to Midtown, it has been a fixture across western Oklahoma for more than 100 years. The new style of relationship banking merges a modern sensibility with old-fashioned values — the values Great Plains Bank is already known for across western Oklahoma.
Scantlin is proud to introduce the heritage of Great Plains Bank to business owners in downtown Oklahoma City, which he calls home.
“Midtown is special,” he said. “We live here; we work here. And we believe that our innovative branch design will give you a warm and comfortable experience and be the start of a lasting relationship.”
Stop by to meet Matt Scantlin and Curt McKamie at Great Plains Bank, 601 NW 13th St.
