CHICAGO: State Bank of Texas with its Chicago connection is set to hoist to a new peak in performance this year with the effective eldership provided by Rajan Patel (Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer), Chandrakant Patel (CEO and Chairman of the Board) and Sushil Patel (President).
The Bank had a great year in2016 with assets jumping to $740 million and a net profit of $43.8 million. The bank then followed up phenomenally in 2017 with a record setting profit of $70 million. With the progress uninhibited, the Bank is set to scale a new high in profit and turnover this year, it is believed
SBT acquired National Republic Bank (Devon Ave) in 2014 and Seaway Bank (Southside/Evergreen Park) in 2017 with its 10 branches and foreign exchange operations. The bank did sell off the majority of its branches and deposits from the Seaway acquisition to Self Help Credit Union. The bank kept a branch inside Chicago O’Hare Airport as well as all foreign exchange operations at Midway and O’Hare airport.
Rajan explained that the success of the bank and its cardinal principal is to lend to those whom you know and trust. The majority of borrowers at the bank are in the Indian/Gujarati community. Since its beginning, State Bank’s mission has been to provide a bank designed to meet the lending needs of the immigrant community, particularly those in the hospitality industry. Today, State Bank of Texas is both the largest Indian-American-owned bank in the United States, as well as the leading hotel lender with loans in 27 states. The success has come while also achieving top bank awards for Return on Assets and Efficiency Ratio.
There is no end to this journey, as Chan’s sons Sushil and Rajan have assumed leadership roles at State Bank. Another generation and another opportunity for success—that’s the American Dream and Chan Patel’s legacy.
Rajan is the youngest son of Chandrakant Patel, the SBT founder. He attended Texas A&M University where he received a degree in finance and joined the family business thereafter. He also has a degree from the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking which is part of the Cox Business School at SMU.
He joined the bank in 2005 and has mastered his role in all areas of lending. He played in major roles in all three of SBT’s bank acquisitions (Millennium State Bank of Texas, National Republic Bank of Chicago, and Seaway Bank and Trust) along with Sushil and Chandrakant.
In addition to the banking role, Rajan also plays a role in its family’s real estate development which is currently in the process of developing two hotels in Manhattan, three hotels in the DFW market (Las Colinas and Frisco), and mixed-use development in DUMBO (Brooklyn).
Rajan has not confined his activities to the business only as he strongly believes in giving back to the society that has helped him to grow. He has been associated with a number of community organizations and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Surti Leuva Patidar Samaj of DFW (SLPS of DFW) which includes membership of over 800 families from the state of Gujarat which reside in the DFW metroplex. More specifically he leads the Young Professionals group. Rajan has been married to his wife Reena for eight years and has a daughter named Sydney (3), with another child on the way.
Surendra Ullal
