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By:
John Duerksen, Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Univest Bank and Trust Co. November 25, 2020
At Univest, we firmly believe in giving back to the communities we serve. Even as the economy has faltered over the past months due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have continued to support nonprofit organizations in our service area through not just donations, but also by serving as a financial partner through lending, insurance and other banking solutions.
With many nonprofits seeing a dip in financial contributions due to the hardships people are facing in 2020, it is important for those organizations to consider how they can adapt and what steps they can take to weather the ongoing economic instability….
By:
John Duerksen, Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Univest Bank and Trust Co. August 24, 2020
Given the recent economic uncertainty, many business owners need to consider their financial and succession plans. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced business owners to rethink how they can safely and successfully navigate through unchartered economic waters. Business owners nearing their retirement years may not be interested in going through an economic recovery period that could potentially span many years. This makes it even more timely to assess the succession plan for your business.
Older business owners are at higher risk in more ways than one. More than half of America’s small business owners are older than 50. Not only…
By:
John Duerksen, Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Univest Bank and Trust Co. October 28, 2016
My son recently injured his knee. The first orthopedic surgeon we met evaluated the injury closely and referred us outside of his practice to a surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The orthopedist said he was capable of doing the surgery, but felt it was in our son’s best interest to see the surgeon at C.H.O.P. Due to the complex nature of the injury and that my son is a young, growing athlete, there would be “game time” decisions to be made during the operation, and the C.H.O.P. surgeon’s extensive experience with cases of this profile increased…
By:
John Duerksen, Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Univest Bank and Trust Co. February 23, 2016
Early in my banking career I was invited to meet with a business owner who expressed interest in moving his company’s banking relationship to Univest. I met with the owner in his office and it quickly became clear the business was struggling and the incumbent bank was encouraging him to move his business to a new financial institution. Business revenue was in steady decline and several key employees had left over the years, both of which were due to new competition in the market. I asked why they were experiencing these trends and what steps were being taken to…
By:
John Duerksen, Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Univest Bank and Trust Co. September 25, 2015
You have to know where you come from to know where you’re going.”
This is a statement a customer made to me more than 20 years ago that I will never forget. He shared this philosophy with me more than once over the years and applied this philosophy to both his business and personal life. He used piloting an airplane as an analogy. A pilot must know his starting point, chart his destination, fully understand the capabilities of his aircraft and the conditions of the environment, and determine what he needs to successfully make it to the final destination. While…
By:
John Duerksen, Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Univest Bank and Trust Co. May 11, 2015
My daughter recently participated in her middle school’s musical production of “Fame Junior.” For those of you familiar with the theme song, you’ll quickly remember the line, “I want to live forever.” As an experienced corporate banker, when I hear that line I think of the importance of succession planning for your business. Unless the fountain of youth is discovered, every business owner needs to plan ahead for the inevitable ownership transition.
We work very closely with our privately held business clients to help their businesses grow and succeed. We also have extensive experience with succession planning. Based on our…
