TWST: Would you begin with a brief historical sketch of the company and a picture of its operations at the present time?
Mr. Geisel: We began with one office in Medford, N.J., in 1985, and through organic growth and small acquisitions over the last 25 years, we've grown to about 65 locations around the state. We are conservatively managed, focused on disciplined growth and local decision-making. For five years in a row, Sun Bancorp (SNBC) was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of America's most trustworthy companies. We do business in 21 of the 21 counties in New Jersey, so we're truly a statewide bank, and we have the second-largest commercial bank actually headquartered in the state. Our teams focus on providing both ideas and solutions to individuals, small business and commercial customers across the state. We are a full-service retail and commercial bank.
We have two key products at this point in time. One is a product called C4 Business Banking, which is basically a suite of business banking services designed to give small business owners access to loan and deposit products as well as cash management and production services solutions. This allows these business owners to invest in their businesses and increase their competitive advantage, and we are advisers to 200-plus small business clients. We established this product earlier in the year because we saw there was a void in the market for not just lending to small businesses, but really comprehensive solutions for those small businesses. The second key product, which we're in the latter stages of developing on the retail side is a checking account that will be "better than free." As you know, many banks are moving away from free checking, so we're going to be offering something that's better than free. We will be rolling that out sometime after the first of the year.
TWST: Would you tell us about the area Sun serves and the economic realities around New Jersey?
