Q. How has banking changed since you got into the business?

A. I've been in banking for 27 years, so when I first got into banking, you were primarily an order taker. The customer came to you. They needed a deposit or they needed a loan. Today, you have to go to the customer. You have to make it more convenient for them and you have to develop products and services that maybe they're not even thinking of themselves, in terms of investment advice, retirement planning, how to do their deposits, how to mitigate risks for their business. Banking has totally changed over the last few years and you have to be a lot more sales-oriented because today you have to sell yourself, your bank and the services you provide. I kind of like it. My father was a used-car salesman, and I grew up in a more sales environment. But for traditional bankers, it's been a tougher transition because that's not why they came into banking.

Q. Central Pacific Bank has two vice chairmen; what are your responsibilities?

A. My role is really overseeing the line areas. So I would oversee the lending; the retail, which entails the branches; our wealth group, which is your trust, credit banking, investment area; the residential lending area; as well as our product and marketing area. The other vice chairman is Dean Hirata, who oversees the operations part of the bank, the finance and technology area. I'm more the day-to-day in terms of the revenue part of the bank, in terms of collecting deposits, revenue fee income, loans.

Q. You were instrumental in implementing the state's first "remote deposit" program. Can you explain what that is?

A. One of the things that I look to do is have our bank be very innovative and be quick-reacting so we can bring things quicker to market. Remote deposit is one example where you can use technology, where you may not have all the best locations, but you really can do your banking out of your home office. It's a scanner where you can process your checks at your desk with a laptop and have your deposit go into the bank that same day. You need to keep up with technology because it allows you to compete differently. We can't bank the same way all the time, and you have to be aware of what kind of products and services are out there that allows you to get a competitive advantage. We may never have the same amount of branches as other banks in town, but if we can reach the customers without relying on brick and mortar for everything, I think it gives us a competitive advantage if we can bring it to market quicker.

Q. What are other challenges that you face?

A. The demands of banking are changing, and you have to keep up with the changes and you have to be a lot more in touch with your clients. The money is always the same color, so you really have to sell yourself. That entails, for me, making sure I can balance being out with customers as well as making sure I can balance being with my family and friends. It crosses over because you spend so many hours working on projects, initiatives or meeting with customers that you have to really balance what you have in terms of family and home life.

Q. CPB is among the leaders when it comes to small-business loans. Are you directly involved in that program?

A. We've been the leader in small-business lending, SBA loans, for three or four years now in Category II, and that's a program that I initiated when I got here to put a lot more emphasis in small-business lending. We continue to put more resources in the small-business area. We're also No. 1 in lending for both the commercial real estate and residential lending in the state.

Q. Why is CPB so involved in supporting small businesses?

A. The small-businesses market provides over 90 percent of the employment in this state so we actually have a few initiatives we're putting in place to continue to support that market. We have the SBA program, which we believe is a good way to start off businesses with their first loan backed by an SBA guarantee. I really believe that if you help that person in the beginning stages, they don't forget that and they're your customers for life, hopefully. We also have a Women's Business Central program, which is really supporting the women business owners and that's really primarily your women entrepreneurs that are really looking for a network and some peer discussions about the challenges that they face and how they can compete better in the business world.

Q. What are some of the other programs that you plan to implement?

A. For the small-business market we're probably going to redeploy more of our lenders out to the branches and bring them closer to where people like to do their banking. A lot of times in banks they have their lending centralized in downtown office locations, but really where people want to do their banking is out in their communities, closer to where their businesses are run and operated. We hope to continue to develop our online banking, remote deposit, things that are alternate delivery channels, which is not necessarily coming into a branch. We're going to spend more time on those electronic delivery channels.

Q. By adding more technology-based programs, does that mean fewer employees?

A. No. You find that when you use technologies you don't really cut down on bodies because the businesses still want someone to talk to. ... So just employing remote deposit or Internet banking, when it comes down to actually advising them, it's very hard to do over an electronic channel. You have to meet with people face to face. It never works out to be a cost-cutting exercise where you try to deploy technology.

Q. How have your parents influenced you?

A. They're small-business owners, and that's why I really have a passion for small business because I see how hard they work. If they don't work, they don't eat, so both my parents used to work seven days a week and didn't take vacations. My mother owned her own seamstress business and my dad owned a used-car lot. That's why I give a lot back to small business and that's why they are my mentors for my career and the things that I get involved with.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.