Roy Binger spent 14 years working for Jacksonville-based Barnett Bank, from the early 1980s until the late 1990s. After Barnett was absorbed into Bank of America, Binger spent a few years in Ohio at Huntington National Bank before returning to Florida to work for SunTrust Bank. Binger served as market president for one of SunTrust's largest divisions, overseeing $12 billion in assets. He left SunTrust in 2013 and founded his own financial services firm in St. Petersburg. For the past year and a half, he served as a market manager and SVP for Seacoast Bank.
Binger said he was drawn to Pilot Bank by its reach in the community and the ability to maintain close contact with customers, something that isn't available at larger banks.
Almost every financial institution thats around $1 billion [in assets] or so, they all want to do what a community bank is supposed to do but act like a big bank," he said. "That's been the mantra: We’re a big bank but want to act like a community bank, which is code for serving the community, just being able to talk — but you can't do that the bigger you get. You lose touch with the client, you're no longer able to truly deliver local market service."
That commitment to the community has manifested itself beyond banking during Binger's time in Cleveland. He currently currently serves on the boards of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, St. Petersburg Catholic High School, Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church and Tampa Bay Innovation Center. He previously served on the board of directors for The Museum of Fine Arts and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.