Rebuilding ‘the great Virginia regional bank’

John Asbury didn’t need a new job in 2016, but when he saw an opportunity build something lost in the 1990s — what he calls “the great Virginia regional bank” — he took it. Eight years later, Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bank has more than tripled in size and is on track to reach nearly $40 billion in assets after completion of an announced acquisition of Sandy Spring Bank. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — AUB CEO Asbury talks about the transformation of the bank. He also discusses his agenda as the newly elected chair of the American Bankers Association, including advocating to remove arbitrary asset thresholds that distort banks’ strategic growth plans, his approach to leadership development at the bank and his commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.