5 questions with Dan Sabol

Born and bred in Chicago, Dan Sabol was caught in a downsizing at his former bank last year, leading to a change in scenery.

In July, Sabol was hired as a senior commercial relationship manager for Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Wichita. Eagle business reporter Bryan Horwath talked with Sabol to get his thoughts on his new job and new city and his experiences in the ultra-competitive Chicago banking market.

Q: What has it been like adjusting to life in a new city?

A: At first, I was a little leery of the culture shock of moving from Chicago – where I had spent my entire life – to Wichita, but I think the opportunity out here is phenomenal. It’s a very dynamic business environment here, and the people are very friendly, welcoming and entrepreneurial. The weather is also better. (laughs)

It’s been an adjustment, but Wichita has a lot to offer.

Q: Chicago is much bigger than Wichita, but compare the business environments of the two cities.

A: Chicago is the most competitive banking market in the country. With the economy being soft these past few years, it’s been a difficult environment there. Coming here, this provides me with a different competitive dynamic. Instead of competing with 16 to 20 other banks, I’m competing primarily with regional providers. These providers do a great job, but they may not have the technology and capabilities that we can provide.

I really believe in Bank of America Merrill Lynch. I think we’ve gotten past the issues that the Great Recession put on a lot of banks.

Q: Your title is senior vice president and senior relationship manager. Explain what you do and how things are changing in your area of expertise.

A: I oversee the commercial bank mid-market portfolio, so I work with executives of companies that have annual sales between $50 million and $2 billion in Kansas, outside of the Kansas City market. I work with them to uncover needs and help provide solutions. That could be things like lines of credit, term loans for acquisitions, investments, recapitalization, treasury needs and risk management in terms of hedging commodities.

Q: What’s changing or what’s new in the industry?

A: The world is getting smaller. Companies now are faced with growth issues, lots of competition and a lack of clarity on their outlook. What we try to do with our clients is provide them data points on their industry or their peer group.

I think what companies are searching for – especially (chief financial officers) – is information. It’s up to me as their banker to be proactive and throw creative ideas at them. Some might work and others might not.

Q: You mentioned that achieving meaningful growth has been difficult lately for many businesses. How difficult is it to find the creative solutions that you speak of for businesses?

A: It’s more difficult now than it’s ever been for companies. I lot of companies I work with, they’re not growing. They’re trying to manage what they have. I work with a number of companies here who export and they’re getting crushed by a very strong dollar. They have to manage around that while still providing shareholder value.

Here, the culture is more conservative and businesses, I think, are managed more conservatively. I think that’s a good thing. I think that culture, in some ways, overcomes the cyclicality of the business environment here, which is largely driven by aviation and oil and gas.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "5 questions with Dan Sabol."