Banks are another in a long list of industries going by the wayside, thanks to the unrelenting tide of digital disruption. However, there are always survivors who manage to adapt and thrive.
Frost Bank is a Texas financial institution with a century and a half of service under its belt. Can you imagine the number of successful adaptions the bank has made since its founding? Texas, the nation and the economy have all grown immensely since then, and so has Frost Bank.
The largest regional bank based in San Antonio recently announced it will open 25 new branches and create more than 200 jobs in the Houston region by the end of 2020. The expansion represents a nearly 19 percent increase in Frost’s 133-branch network in the state.
It makes sense that Frost Bank is celebating its 150th anniversary by wrapping the bank and the people who bank there in optimism. “We’re a company made of optimists. After all, it took optimism to successfully navigate the changing—and sometimes challenging—times over the last 150 years.”
Optimism is, of course, good for business.
Optimism can change lives. That change doesn’t come through wishing for better things, but working for them. It’s what Texans do every day, when they choose to try something new, to start a new project at work, buy a home, start a business, or start a family. What’s more, optimism isn’t just an innate trait. Everyone can adopt an outlook of success.
It’s what Texans have done for generations. People have always come to Texas in search of something. In fact, many of those who shaped our modern state were hoping to escape dire circumstances—debt, famine, religious persecution, or a lack of economic opportunity. Many of the concerns that seem to dominate modern life weighed on our forebearers, too.
The Texas Optimism Project is a sponsored initiative between Texas Monthly and Frost Bank. The project aims to inspire optimism by sharing stories of extraordinary Texans like J. David Bamberger.
In 1969, Bamberger, a co-founder of Church’s Chicken, sought to buy the worst piece of ranchland he could find in the Hill Country with the specific intention of restoring it back to functional health.
Today, Bamberger Ranch is a 5,500-acre ranch in Blanco County that has been restored to its original habitat. It’s mission is to teach ethical land stewardship — by example and by outreach. The ranch offer seminars for landowners and serves as a research lab for botanists, zoologists, and other scientists. Also, 2000 school kids visit Selah Ranch each year. That’s optimism in action.
