River Bank & Trust, formerly known as Keystone Bank, is one of the largest community banks in Alabama. A leader in the banking industry, River Bank & Trust is known for providing local banking expertise, personal attention, hospitality, along with the newest innovations and technology.

At Newcleus, we provided their CEO, Gerald Ray Smith, along with three other key executives, an unbeatable lifetime benefit through our Lifetime Income Non-Qualified Solution, also referred to as LINQS+.

Prior to partnering with us, Keystone Bank feared the day where their CEO Smith would retire. Smith, along with three of Keystone’s executives, held significant ownership in the bank. During our partnership with Keystone, we helped the board understand that in order for Smith and his executives to retire, Keystone may need a liquidity event or the ability to sell his stock.

Keystone, however, did not want selling the bank to be contingent on Smith’s retirement. So, we helped them formulate a big-picture plan where their team would feel comfortable on the day Smith’s retirement came.

But how did we achieve this? LINQS+ allowed us to offer Smith and his executives a retirement benefit far greater than any traditional SERP (supplemental executive retirement plan).

Keystone was willing to invest half a million dollars in each executive’s retirement plan, totaling two million dollars. For this investment, using a traditional SERP model, each executive could be offered $50,000 a year for 10 years. 

For the same premium, however, LINQS+ offered Smith and each executive $75,000 a year for life. We all know which option Smith went with, referring to this decision as, “the best decision we ever made as a bank.” (And an added plus, Smith claims that $75,000 was the number he’d been hoping for in his retirement plan all along!)

Prior to partnering with us, Keystone felt anxious about its future. They feared that when Smith’s retirement came, they would feel pressure to sell the bank regardless of if they wanted to or not so that Smith could gain access to his wealth.

Today, Smith is President of River Bank & Trust. He and his team at River Bank & Trust, formerly known as Keystone Bank, no longer have to worry about when the “right time” is to sell or not sell the bank. Since working with us, they have undergone a widely successful merger—making them the most prominent community bank, all while continuing to be privately held.

With LINQS+ established, Smith is in a position to comfortably retire without worrying about having to sell his shares. Additionally, because of LINQS+, Keystone not only was able to provide a substantial return to shareholders on the first sale when they became River Bank & Trust, but also they now can be involved in a second transaction.

At Newcleus, we combine decades of experience to redefine what’s possible in designing and administering the best compensation, benefits, investment, and financing strategies. We can offer you a benefit that no one else can at the lowest cost, a benefit that you can never outlive.

Our team is wholly dedicated to creating and implementing competitive compensation and benefits packages that will attract and fully engage the best possible leadership team, and this is exactly what we did for River Bank & Trust.