Gerard M. Banmiller, longtime South Jersey bank president and civic leader, has died at 75
He was adept at opening banks, comfortable with serving the rich and not-so-rich, and active in South Jersey civic affairs and politics. “You can always count on me to speak my mind,” he said.
Gerard M. Banmiller, 75, formerly of Mount Laurel, longtime banker in Philadelphia and South Jersey, and outspoken civic leader, died Wednesday, Aug. 17, of brain degeneration at his home in Summerville, S.C.
Adept at opening banks and building financial relationships with both millionaires and the not-so-rich, and especially proud of his work in funding the revitalization of downtown Collingswood, Mr. Banmiller began his 50-year career in 1972 at Girard Bank. Four years later, at 33, he became the youngest senior vice president at Midlantic National Bank.
He went on to open and serve as president of Community National Bank in Haddon Township in 1987 and grow it to eight branches before it was acquired by Hudson United Bank in 1998.
In 2000, excited customers waited outside in lawn chairs as he opened 1st Colonial Bank in Collingswood. Using an advertising campaign called “Gerry’s back,” 1st Colonial collected more than a $1 million in deposits and closed more than $500,000 in loans on the first day, became profitable in just six months, and exceeded its three-year financial projections in the first year.
He served as president until his retirement in 2020, and 1st Colonial became known around town as “Gerry’s bank.” Mr. Banmiller told The Inquirer in 2019: “The guy who hired me at Girard [in 1972] told me I wouldn’t last. Too arrogant.”
Indeed, Mr. Banmiller’s outsized personality served him well over the years. Using his own distinctive voice, he recorded effective radio ads for 1st Colonial that featured grouchy criticisms of competing banks and rallied his loyal base of customers to remain with him.
“You can always count on me to speak my mind,” Mr. Banmiller told The Inquirer in 1999.
He was so popular with his customers and neighbors that his wife, Fran Verna, was shocked when they were introduced in 1985 at Kaminski’s Sports Bar and Restaurant in Cherry Hill. “I had never met a banker with groupies,” she said. “People were always around him. He kind of sucked the energy in the room. I was overwhelmed by the people he knew.”
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In an online tribute, a friend said: “He shot straight from the hip. He pulls no punches and tells you just like it is. But when he was with a group of guys from Collingswood, he was one of the guys.” Another said: “We’ve built lives based on his generous commitment to the small business community.”
Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley told The Inquirer in 2019: “The bank has been a huge help for the town, a great asset to the community, and it’s all due to him.”
Mr. Banmiller told The Inquirer: “Our line is, ‘We’re nice people with money.’ I ride that as hard as we can. Of course, everybody says that. But I know my customers.”
To augment his financial business and contribute to civic life beyond the bank, Mr. Banmiller became president of the Collingswood Business Improvement Districts and the American Diabetes Association of South Jersey, chairman of the Camden County Improvement Authority and Collingswood Zoning Board, vice chairman of the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, and trustee of the board of the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts.
He also served on Camden’s state-appointed financial review board in the 1990s and made an unsuccessful bid to win a New Jersey General Assembly seat in the Sixth District as a Republican in 1999.
Born July 28, 1947, in Norristown, Mr. Banmiller graduated from Bishop Kenrick High School and Villanova University in 1969, and attended the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He studied law at Villanova for a year, was skilled in his use of language, and testified as an expert witness in court regarding financial matters. He also testified against a bank robber who held him at gunpoint at Girard Bank during a harrowing incident in the 1970s.
After an earlier marriage and divorce from Abby Dean, he married Verna in 1987, and they lived in Collingswood and Mount Laurel. He helped his wife raise her three daughters, doted on her grandchildren, and later traced his family roots in Germany and hers in Italy.
They also traveled to Russia, Croatia, Spain, Greece, and elsewhere. He cared for a German shepherd and golden retrievers, and liked to hunt and listen to classical music.
“His hobby,” his wife said, “was banking. He was a good guy with good instincts. To me, he was a big teddy bear.”
In addition to his wife, Mr. Banmiller is survived by his former wife and other relatives. A brother died earlier.
Services were Sept. 9.
Donations in his name may be made to Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19130.