Steve Miller, president and CEO of FFB, spoke to the Fresno Rotary Club Monday. Photo by Gabriel Dillard

Steve Miller, president and CEO of FFB (formerly Fresno First Bank), shared stories and thoughts on his industry with the Fresno Rotary Club Monday.

FFB, which announced its name change in March amidst the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, topped The Business Journal’s SBA Lenders list published July 7. It reported $32.2 million in 7(a) loan volume for fiscal 2022 in the Central Valley, up from $9.32 million the year prior.

Miller is preparing to celebrate eight years as head of FFB. Prior to working in Fresno, he was a business banker in Malaysia and Indonesia, handling so-called “sin” businesses — gambling, nightclubs, etc. — in the majority Muslim countries.

He shared stories of working with underworld figures in the countries and recalled one time when the collateral for a defaulted loan — an actual building — was disassembled and stolen after the suspects bribed a security guard.

Closer to home, Miller shared his thoughts on two major issues of importance to community banks. The first issue is deposit insurance reform after the recent bank failures. Currently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. only covers up to $250,000 in customer deposits. FDIC proposals to increase the covered limits would require Congressional approval.

Miller said reform would level the playing field and manage costs for community banks compared to big, national banks.

Another equalizer, Miller said, is the July 20 launch of FedNow, a new instant digital payment system. He said such a system brings the Federal Reserve in line with more sophisticated payment systems in place in other countries for some time.

With the new technology comes an increased risk for fraud, Miller warned. Once someone hits send on a payment, the money is gone.

Answering a question about predictions of a commercial real estate crash as interest rates rise, Miller said it’s Main Street that could see the largest hit as pension funds such as CalPERS have more exposure to commercial real estate.

“Community banks won’t get hit so hard,” he said.