A native of Helena, John O. Moore gave up a job as president of the northwest Arkansas region of Chambers Bank of Danville in the fall of 2018 to steer what was then Helena National Bank through the switch to a state bank charter and a new name, Partners Bank. Before becoming a banker, he was a practicing attorney who counseled banks and other financial institutions.
Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing from the University of Arkansas’s Walton College of Business in 1992. Moore then graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law in 1998. He has continued to live in northwest Arkansas while his children are in school.
At this writing, Phillips County still has no reported cases of COVID-19, but the pandemic has to be affecting your business. How has Partners Bank changed its operations in the past few weeks?
Out of support and precaution, we closed the branch lobbies in all of our markets, asked some of our higher risk team members to stay home, implemented additional cleaning and distancing measures and began developing a more aggressive plan if the situation escalates. We are now focusing squarely on something that we took for granted just a few weeks ago — a healthy and hygienic work environment.
What changes have you seen from your customers? Are the phones ringing more or less? What are the most common questions?
Our customers have been incredibly patient and understanding. Everyone recognizes that these are extraordinary times prompting extraordinary measures. While we are operating under a limited basis, most everyone simply wants to know that we will continue to provide them the same services and protections they received before all of this started.
This pandemic will end eventually. What permanent changes in business do you anticipate? Will COVID-19 be the thing that finally makes everyone bank online?
One permanent change for Partners Bank and possibly for other businesses is the realization that anything can happen at any time and we must be prepared to respond to every possible situation. Every business faces potential threats and every business must determine how best to respond to those threats when they come.
Banking, of course, will always change and evolve. Online banking will certainly increase, but I don’t think this virus will drive everyone to it as a matter of course. I believe a lot of people still want and need the human connection and interaction you can only receive face to face. If a person can fulfill that connection inside a bank, we will continue to offer them that opportunity.
Partners Bank’s profitability has been inching up over the past couple of years. What was 2020 looking like before the pandemic? How have your predictions changed?
2020 was looking to be one of our best years in recent times. Despite an uncertain national economy, our local economies seem to remain optimistic. At least for now, development projects have been “paused” and not “canceled.” While we may not have the year we originally anticipated, we remain optimistic about the year’s outcome.
What is the best advice you ever received, and how are you applying it?
My dad always urged me to be passionate about what I do in life. He would tell me that if you love what you’re doing, you will never work a day in your life. The opportunity to help lead a business (specifically, a bank) located in my hometown is more than a passion. For me, it’s the fulfillment of a lifetime’s dream. And even though I don’t live in Helena, being able to contribute in some small way to the community that gave so much to me is a dream come true.
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