Community & Thought Leadership

FELLOW STAKEHOLDERS, Our theme this year is The Power of &. Triumph is a bank… but we are far more than just a bank. That’s the “&” in our story. The power of an emerging transportation fintech platform housed within a community bank is unique and positions us to deliver far more than those individual components could achieve on their own. I believe you will see this unfold in 2020 more than it ever has before. Review of 2019 The year 2019 was a difficult one in many respects, but a very successful one in others. Triumph Business Capital (“TBC”) experienced greater than anticipated headwinds as the transportation sector recalibrated following industry over expansion in 2018. As market opportunities unfolded, we elected to make significant investments into our transportation fintech platform, pulling several years of planned technology investment forward on an accelerated timeline. These factors led to a year-over- year decrease in our return on average assets. On the other hand, we improved our credit metrics, grew core deposits, made substantial progress integrating our prior…

Thursday was the team’s final day to visit the well site. The Living Water staff team applied the finishing touches in assembling the pump and flushing out the bleach that is used to disinfect the well before use. It was a laid back morning, allowing the TBK team to spend time with members of the community before the dedication ceremony. Just before lunch, a few members from the team and the Living Water staff showed up to the worksite with 50 pizzas! The TBK team pooled their resources to throw a surprise pizza party for the residents from the surrounding community. Our team was able to hand out slice after slice to a line of locals who were incredibly grateful for pizza, extending many “iGracias!” Following the party, it was time for the well dedication ceremony. The Living Water staff led children’s games and puppet shows. The TBK team performed a skit telling the story of The Good Samaritan. A local pastor spoke to the crowd and the TBK team was prompted to sit in…

Wednesday was a short work day for the drill team after they hit water on Tuesday. The team spent the morning laying a concrete foundation for the water pump. This work required them to recruit six men from the community to help. The drill team finished their work in the morning and left the foundation to dry until the next day. Meanwhile, the hygiene team returned to the school to teach the children about oral hygiene and dental health, including good habits when caring for their teeth. The TBK team enjoyed a few hours off the drill site for a team lunch. Following fresh shrimp ceviche, they accepted an invitation to join the mayor and local Rotary Club for a boat tour off the Usulutan Coast, where our team has been staying and working. While our team enjoyed their lunchtime excursion, everyone was eager to get back to the village for their afternoon session with the community. The afternoon began with the community singing worship songs in both English and Spanish. Our team taught the…

Tuesday was a great day for the TBK team in El Salvador. After their drilling progress on Monday, the team started the day excited, ready to get to work and cautiously optimistic for what the day would hold. Just before lunch, team leader Chris was working on the drill site and started noticing extra water flowing from the drill platform. He was a participant on last year’s trip where the team drilled for 4 days and never hit water. “After that experience,” Chris said, “I was unsure if the extra water I was seeing was the water used by the drill to cool the pipes, or if we really were about to hit water.” Five minutes after noticing the excess water, the Living Water staff confirmed they had hit water! Team members were laughing and crying over the revelation that they hit water on the morning of the second day! The community members were also excited to come and see the clean water gushing from the ground. Men and women walked out of their fields…

The TBK Team arrived in El Encanto (“The Charm”) on Monday morning, ready to serve! Upon their arrival, they were greeted by scores of people from the community, as well as the mayor, the principal of the school, and a local pastor. There was a ceremony held to welcome our team, followed by a walking tour of the community. The team visited the home of a mother of nine children to better understand the need for clean water in the community. The youngest, a baby, was all smiles for the TBK team! On their tour they visited the school where team members will take turns during the week teaching hygiene classes, teaching Bible stories, and making arts and crafts. The school is where the original well, which is no longer functional, is located. The team expressed how impactful it was to witness the joy on the faces of the children at the school. Following the walking tour, the team returned to the drill site and ate an incredible lunch of fried chicken, rice, beet and…

The TBK Team arrived safely in El Salvador on Sunday to begin our 8th annual trip to El Salvador with Living Water International. After a full day of travel, and a little exploration, the team was given a briefing on where they will serve for the week. The team will serve a community where Living Water has provided a well previously. The manual hand pump for the old well stopped working, making it difficult to access the water. The well, which was built on the grounds of a school, is now mostly inaccessible to the community because of a fence now surrounding the private property of the school. While the village is in close proximity to a larger community with access to public water, certain political barriers have kept the village from accessing the utility supply. While there are a few shallow water sources being used by the community, they are unsafe due to sewage contamination. On a positive note, because another well site has been successful so close to the new well site, the…

The year 2019 is soon to slip into the history books. I cannot believe how fast time goes. I also cannot believe how much I sound like my dad when I say that. If you have spent any time watching television or scrolling through social media lately, you might conclude that the world is a bad place – maybe even getting worse, fast. I cannot recall the last time I watched a newscast that didn’t include the word “crisis.” The world was not a perfect place in the year 2019, and it won’t be a perfect place in 2020 either. While I recognize that there are many things that should change, I also choose to see the good that there is in the world. There is a lot of good to see if you just look for it. I see how our team members serve their communities so well while at work and in their free time. I see many of our customers continuing to prosper as the US economy continues to perform well. I…

TBK Bank sent its seventh team to El Salvador with Living Water International with hopes of bringing a clean water source to a school in the village of Sonsonate. Though the elevation at the school prevented the team from reaching water, the time they spent with the children and members of the community made for an unforgettable experience. http://player.vimeo.com/video/331043810?title=0&byline=0 We asked each team member to reflect on their time in El Salvador. Below are their experiences. Lorena | Interstate Capital – El Paso “The moment we arrived to the school, the kids and teachers received us with big smiles and hugs. They opened their hearts to us and gave us a very special welcome.  I enjoyed every minute I was at the school, whether it was teaching hygiene lessons or working at the drill site. This trip changed my perspective on life – I am very grateful for the many blessings I have in my life such as my family, education, my job, and clean running water in my house. Words don’t do justice to…

FELLOW STAKEHOLDERS, Our theme for 2019 is Rethink Vanilla. My goal for any shareholder letter is to do more than just recite a list of accomplishments from the prior year or tell you about financial goals for the year to come. I would like to lift the curtain and allow our stakeholders to better understand what we are doing and where we think we are going, which is far more valuable than a list of metrics. Thus, the theme of our annual report is more than just a catchy phrase; it is a summation of the company we are building. I trust this will become clear as you read on. THE CLOSE OF AN “EPIC” CHAPTER AND A BIT OF HISTORY. Our theme for 2018 was Just the Right Amount of Epic. We completed the acquisition of three banks and a factoring company during the year. We grew assets by 30% and deposits by 32%. We generated net income to common stockholders of $51.1 million, a 44% increase over 2017. Our diluted earnings per share…

Yesterday morning the team made their way back to the school one last time to pack up their things and say goodbye to students and community members. To end their time together, there was dancing and singing along with many tears shed by both students and TBK Bank team members. The team was sad to leave and the students were sad to see them go. The assistant principal of the school said it best, “Your faces will always be in their hearts and they will think of you always,” Each team member had a child they had grown attached to throughout the week and were all impacted by the love and affection shown throughout their stay. Following an emotional goodbye, the TBK Bank team was able to spend one last recess with the kids filled with more jump rope, basketball, and fun. As the day came to an end, the team headed back to the Living Water house where they had pupusas for dinner, a traditional Salvadoran dish that has been a team favorite for…