Monday, May 6th at 10am was cloudy, but it didn’t diminish the #sunnysouthdallas spirit at the grand opening of Vista Bank. This is the first bank to open in 75210 within the past 30 years, at the intersection of MLK Blvd. and J. B. Jackson in Fair Park.
112-year-old privately-owned Vista Bank affirmed its continued commitment to South Dallas, with plans to do things community members have never seen before.
If it feels like Vista Bank suddenly appeared out of nowhere, that’s because they’re still fairly new to the DFW. The Lubbock-based bank expanded its footprint to Dallas in 2017 with a Loan Production Office (LPO.) And Vista would eventually open a full-service location in Preston Center, where the headquarters were relocated in early 2020.
But when you come to the Big D, how do you separate yourself from the 260+ financial institutions already calling Dallas home? The board and bank leadership already saw the need to serve the South Dallas community early on, committing time and resources to a task force aimed at innovating in this space.
Fast forward to implementing the pièce de résistance – opening a branch in South Dallas. Bank President & CEO John Steinmetz and Lubbock Smith shared the vision to serve entrepreneurs market-wide by teaching them to fish. It was about that time that James McGee, President of Southern Dallas Progress was bringing attention to lack of banks in South Dallas. James, John, Lubbock and Bill Mahomes (now Vista Board Member) began meeting to determine how to not only teach others to fish but provide a quality pond. Never one to mince his words, McGee was direct with Steinmetz about what needed to be done to see impact within the South Dallas community.
A location was then secured and renovation efforts of the old social security building at 3225 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd were underway.
“Growing up an Oak Cliff native, now South Dallas resident, I’ve chosen to work and raise my family here because I wanted to help others elevate in my local community.”
Lubbock Smith III, Vista Bank President
And today, the South Dallas Vista Bank serves not only as Vista’s largest banking center, but also provides office space to house the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Southern Dallas Progress and the SDFP Innovation Center. Additionally, Vista Bank will host a Financial Literacy Center offering year-round training to all community members. Students, young adults, families, and small businesses are all welcome.
Vista Bank’s Grand Opening ceremony almost felt like a family reunion, with all of Black Dallas on the scene to show their support. Senator Royce West, Representative Venton Jones and Councilman Adam Bazuldua all spoke to their support of Vista Bank’s community pillars. South Dallas advocates like Hon. Diane Ragsdale and Big Thought CEO, Byron Sanders were also in attendance.
I’ve always had a passion to teach people to fish, providing a hand up, not a handout. We will continue working with community partners to find the right balance of financial literacy education and access to funding for qualified loans; providing the training needed for entrepreneurs to learn how to fish as well as a ‘quality pond’ for them to fish from.
John D. Steinmetz, Vista President & CEO
The grand opening of Vista Bank concluded with a lunch for community members and a tour of the new office space.
Investment in what we all know to be an underserved community, is always a good thing. South Dallas residents are very good at holding their service providers accountable. Institutional services are a lifeline for a lot of community members, in the Black community and specifically within South Dallas. Lubbock Smith III will serve as the Senior Vice President & Director of Community Development and Vista Outreach in South Dallas. Dallas location. Many who will hold office at the brand-new financial center are from this neighborhood, their investment to see change for the better is personal. And we all look forward to seeing what more Vista Bank has in store for #sunnysouthdallas
