EAST LOS ANGELES, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Independent Community Bankers of America (?ICBA?) (www.ICBA.org) has named Pan American Bank CEO Jesse Torres as one of the Top 20 Community Banker Influencers on Twitter (http://www.ICBA.org/smleaders/topcbers.cfm). The ICBA will feature Mr. Torres and Pan American Bank in the September issue of ICBA Magazine.
?It is a great honor to be recognized by the ICBA. As a career-long community banker I know the value of the ICBA. This recognition is meaningful because it affirms what the Pan American Bank team already knows ? that Pan American Bank is making a difference every day in our community,? said Pan American Bank CEO Jesse Torres. ?Pan American Bank?s service area is served by six FDIC-insured banks. However, only one of the six ? Pan American Bank ? is headquartered in California, and the eastside, specifically. Through Twitter and other forms of social media Pan American Bank is able to 'humanize' relations with our community and engage in conversations that demonstrate the many benefits of local banking, including affordable products and services, job creation, living wages, community reinvestment, career development opportunities, and other benefits that are absent when work is shipped outside the community and the state.?
According to ICBA Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Chris Lorence, ?Building a brand goes beyond a perceived geographical footprint; social media opens the doors of opportunity even wider for community banks. Consumers now expect fresh content, insight and consistent interaction with brands they are connected to online, and community banks are no exception. ICBA is proud to highlight those community banks and bankers who are blazing a critical trail forward by making social media an integral part of their brand and communications strategy.?
As early as 2007, Mr. Torres was one of a handful of social media evangelists within the banking industry encouraging community bankers to use of social media as a means of competing with regional, national and multi-national banks.
In December 2008, Mr. Torres released his widely read Community Banker?s Guide to Social Network Marketing (http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2873849/The-Community-Bankers-Guide-to-Social-Network-Marketing). This early work provided community bankers with a roadmap to ?humanizing? their customer?s experience while minimizing the reputational damage caused by the banking crisis. In January 2011, Mr. Torres released the Human Resources Guide to Social Media Risks (http://www.bit.ly/hrsmguide) as a tool for bankers and other businesses to adequately manage the risks associated with the use of social media within the organization and by employees on- and off-site.
Mr. Torres has spoken to thousands of bankers across the country through banking association conferences, webinars, and seminars. Mr. Torres curates the Social Media and Banking Blog (http://socialmediabanking.blogspot.com/) and communicates via Twitter through @jstorres and @PanAmericanBank. Mr. Torres can also be found on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/jessetorres.
About Pan American Bank
Established in 1964, Pan American Bank is California?s oldest Latino-owned bank and the second-oldest Latino-owned bank in the United States. Pan American Bank is also certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (?CDFI?). Headquartered in East Los Angeles, Pan American Bank has served the needs of the Latino communities in Los Angeles and Orange counties for nearly a half-century. Founded by the first Latina United States Treasurer, Romana Acosta Banuelos, the Bank has stayed true to its mission of transforming and empowering Latino communities through banking relationships built on trust, service, respect, communication, and guidance. Pan American Bank is Member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.
Web: www.panamericanbank.us | Facebook: www.facebook.com/panamericanbank | Twitter: @panamericanbank | YouTube: www.youtube.com/panamericanbank | Blog: panamericanbank.blogspot.com