While First Republic has evolved over time to strengthen the delivery of its core competencies, one mantra remains paramount: Focus on the client. “Our people wake up each day thinking about how they can take care of their clients,” explains Herbert.

A study conducted by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman in 2014 quantified the Bank’s client-centric, one relationship at a time approach, which focuses on taking excellent care of the clients it already has. It confirmed that the majority of the growth in the enterprise comes from the growth of existing clients. Fully 50 percent of all growth in checking accounts from 2007 through 2014 came from existing clients. Another 25 percent came from their direct referrals. ¹

“My clients are my sales force,” says Julie Harkins, Executive Managing Director – Relationship Management. Harkins joined First Republic Bank in 1993 and has experienced firsthand, within her own book of business, the exponential growth driven by existing clients. “Take care of your client, because that client will grow with you. That client will bring in the next three.” ²

“Our word-of-mouth referral network is key to the growth of the business and something we focus on – through providing extraordinary client service – each and every day, at all levels of the enterprise,” states Mike Selfridge, Chief Operating Officer. “It truly is a community banking model, one that stays close to the client.” ³

“We’re not product pushers here. We find solutions, to help our clients achieve their goals,” says Anna Legio, Senior Managing Director and Manager of the Bank’s Park Avenue Preferred Banking office in Manhattan since 2001. ⁴ “I call our new clients just to ask ‘Are we taking good care of you?’ It’s simple – I teach my team to make each client feel special,” shares Nancy Sargent, Senior Managing Director and Manager of the Preferred Banking office in San Mateo, CA who joined the Bank in 2000. ⁵

“When I began my career, as a Preferred Banker in our Park Avenue office,” shares Martin Gibson, Senior Managing Director, “I asked my first client why she moved her banking to us. ‘Because you called me back,’ she stated. I never forgot that. While we have clients with complex needs, sometimes it really can be that simple.” Afsaneh Iranpour, Director of Sales – Preferred Banking Offices, also finds client-focus a leading edge. “It’s a privilege to serve you. Other banks have the same products. We are different because we aren’t focused on the products. We’re focused on the client, on serving the client.” ⁷

Fatema Arande, Deputy Director of Preferred Banking Offices, began with First Republic in Southern California, moving with the firm to help establish Boston and then New York. “Boston was daunting at first – a new market, a small team – but very exciting. So we focused on service, taking care of the client, one at a time, to set us apart. Service delivers business.” Amie Stevens, Senior Managing Director – Preferred Banking, was also one of the first to join the Boston team, in 2006. “At First Republic, sales and service are intertwined. At other institutions, those are thought of as separate functions, but here, to keep the client at the center, that is the approach.” ⁸

Focusing on the client is not limited to the Bank’s associates on the front-line of client service, however. This mission permeates throughout the enterprise, at all levels and through all departments. “It’s organized around the client, from Day One, from the bottom up. It isn’t driven by the products, or services, or business unit,” shares Susie Cranston, who joined the Private Wealth Management strategy team from McKinsey & Company in 2013. “The thought process around profitability then followed suit. It isn’t driven by budgets segmented by products, services, units, structures – it is managed at the top, so that the client-facing teams can make decisions best for the client. The client is the number one organizing figure. And that base, that philosophy, it’s hard to duplicate.” ¹⁰

Angela Osborne joined First Republic from Blackrock in 2013, as the Chief Operating Officer for its Private Wealth Management division. “Are you driven by the client or by the bottom line? There is a firm direction here, that these goals are not in contradiction,” she notes. “Clients and shareholders do not need to compete. Everyone looks to do the right thing for the client, and that delivers bottom-line value and growth. The two are not in opposition over time.” ¹¹

With the client at the center of the enterprise, and service at the core of its culture, First Republic Bank increased total enterprise value 25.8 percent per annum from July 1985 to March 2015.

“We share the same values of our long-term shareholders – a focus on quality, performance and strong, stable, predictable returns over time,” says Shannon Houston, Director of Investor Relations. “We firmly believe that keeping the client at the center of everything we do, and maintaining a culture of extraordinary service, achieves an optimization of shareholder value. There is a symbiotic relationship between delivering safety and stability that serves all key constituent groups: shareholders, regulators, clients and our team.”

“Everything starts with the client. How are we going to make our clients’ lives better, easier? That permeates throughout the enterprise – everyone is marching to the same beat,” says Jonathan Santelli, who joined as Deputy General Counsel in 2013 from Merrill Lynch. ¹²