Bank Marketing Strategy
Bound by Banking with guest Brandon Herbison – Commercial Banking Leader at Texas Security Bank
Brandon Herbison has spent nearly 14 years in the banking industry. He started as a credit analyst and built his way up to leading the North Dallas commercial banking team at Texas Security Bank. In a recent conversation with him on our Bound by Banking series, Brandon shared his candid perspective on the trends reshaping the DFW banking landscape, what it really means to stay competitive as a community bank, and how institutions like his balance short-term results with long-term brand building.
The M&A Wave Reshaping DFW Banking
If you’ve been paying attention to the Dallas-Fort Worth market, you’ve noticed the activity. Brandon certainly has. He estimates roughly 10 banks were bought and sold in the DFW area in 2025 alone. A level of merger and acquisition activity he says is unlike anything he’s seen in his nearly 14-year career.
“It’s the first time in my career where it’s like, man — there’s quite a bit of turmoil within the sector.”
Big names have been in the mix: Veritex, Visita Bank, Cadence Bank, and Independent Bank (up in Collin County) have all seen significant announcements. For Brandon, the takeaway isn’t an alarm, “it’s an opportunity” he said. When clients face uncertainty from a merger, they become open to new conversations. When bankers are displaced, talent starts to move. For a well-rooted, independent institution like Texas Security Bank, that’s an opening for more talent and more customers.
What “Staying Competitive” Actually Means for a Community Bank
Ask a community banker what sets them apart and you’ll almost always hear the word “relationships.” Brandon doesn’t shy away from that answer either, but he’s quick to add the other half of the equation: which is technology.
Texas Security Bank was founded in 2008 with a specific philosophy: be small enough and flat enough to move fast, but tech-enabled enough to serve sophisticated clients. Today, at over $1 billion in assets, they operate as a branch-lite institution, meaning clients rarely need to walk into a physical location. Everything from treasury management to online banking is built to handle middle-market companies with hundreds of employees.
“We’re that sweet spot — the big banks have technology but not the relationship. Community banks have the relationship but not always the technology. We try to have both.”
Their target client base reflects this intentional positioning: law firms, private companies, and deposit-rich intermediaries like 1031 exchange groups. Brandon’s advice to any bank trying to compete? Figure out what you’re genuinely great at, dominate that niche, and grow outward from there.
And when it comes to client service, the approach is simple and direct: no 1-800 numbers. Just a cell phone number and a banker who knows your business.
Balancing Short-Term Results with Long-Term Brand Building
One of the most practical tensions in banking (especially for institutions with shareholders) is the push and pull between quarterly performance and brand equity. Brandon’s perspective is grounded in a key structural advantage: Texas Security Bank is privately owned, which means they’re not managing to Wall Street’s quarterly expectations.
But the more interesting part of his answer wasn’t about ownership structure. In fact, it was about their values. The bank operates around 10 core values, and they highlight one each month, and are embedded into how the team makes decisions every day. For Brandon, those values aren’t wall art. They’re the actual brand.
“Banking is selling commodities at the end of the day. We’ve had to figure out ways to differentiate — and that’s where our brand lives.”
One concrete manifestation of that brand is TSB Academy. Which an executive MBA-style program Texas Security Bank created for small business owners and their key leaders. Across 10 sessions per year (organized in two semesters), participants graduate from a curriculum built around business education. It’s not a product pitch. It’s genuine value creation and it’s become a signature part of the bank’s identity.
On the short-term side, Brandon is pragmatic: Google reviews matter, LinkedIn presence matters, and a 4.8 or 4.9 rating when someone looks you up for the first time does real work. But those short-term signals are only credible because of the foundation underneath them.
As Ryan put it during the conversation: building a brand is like building a wall “brick by brick”. Miss a few and you’ve got holes. Brandon agreed, adding that the key is intentionality. Values on the wall mean nothing until they’re lived daily.
