Patricia Husic co-founded Centric Financial in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 2007. Then came the Great Recession.
"It wasn't perfect timing," said Husic of the bank's founding. "We didn't have a crystal ball."
If she had a crystal ball back then, she might have seen the bank's impending sale 15 years later.
In late August, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation announced that it was acquiring Centric Financial. The $144 million all-stock deal will create a bank with nearly $11 billion in assets.
At the time of the announcement, First Commonwealth said it would appoint Husic to its board of directors once the deal closed.
"This strategic partnership will provide our customers and communities with greater access to additional products and services that we believe will result in an enhanced customer experience for our commercial base and the opportunity to augment the retail portion of our business with their product set and consumer verticals," Husic said in a press release.
"There's going to be regulatory focus on commercial real estate financing," Husic said. "The value of properties may decline. How does that impact their cash flow? There may be a time where bankers have to pull back their collateral value."
So, with the global economy in limbo again, Husic is exercising caution, knowing from her prior experience that a recovery could be slow.
"We need to be prudent with our underwriting and lending," she said. "Do I personally think it's time to stop lending? It's not. But you need to be prudent."
With that in mind, Husic is taking a careful look at Centric's loan portfolio and working to head off potential financial and regulatory issues. The majority of the loans Centric made in 2021 were related to commercial real estate. During the past year, Husic has been focused on increasing Centric's residential mortgage business while also closing the racial homeownership gap.
Throughout her years in the industry, Husic has made an effort to promote female leaders.
"You are seeing more women [chief financial officers] and more females who are chief human resource officers or chief risk officers," she said. "But not many CEOs. Women are a lot of times still the caretakers for their family. It is tough to balance it all. You can't have it all. There are things you do give up.
"I've been a single mom since my son was 5 years old," she added. "It's tough."
Mentors, sponsors and advocates who know what a person is going through, and can act on their colleague's behalf, will help more women advance, Husic said.
But women bankers can never assume someone will speak up for them, she said, and must intentionally advocate for themselves.
"Women need to be more vocal to express what their careers are," Husic said. "It is important to express what your goals are."
