Nikos Kostakos
brings elegance to the elegant new branch
in Manhasset, NY
Athenian-born Nikos Kostakos has been in banking 21 years with a wide range of experience at Atlantic Bank, EAB, and JP Morgan Chase before coming to Marathon Bank which “is backed by one of the largest banking institutions in the world, the bank of Piraeus, with over 50 billion euros in assets. It’s expanding over the world and I think it will expand in the United States, as well. Right now we have fourteen branches in New York and New Jersey. And I don’t think we’re going to stop expanding.” The Manhasset branch on Northern Boulevard is ultra-modern and the 45-year-old Kostakos is an elegant host: he glides easily from the glass partitions of station to station and prides himself on providing personal service. “What makes a good banker?” he asks. And then he replies in a mix of fluent Greek and English. “Being able to listen to clients and know what exactly they need. Because if you don’t listen you can’t find out what they need and provide them the right product.”
Why come to Manhasset?
There was no Greek banking presence in Long Island and I think Marathon, with Piraeus bank, made a good choice in locating here. We have a sizeable Greek American community here, between the communities of Manhasset, Brookville and Hicksville. And they all wanted a Greek banking presence. Of course, Marathon isn’t just a Greek bank. It’s a banking institution for everyone. There are a number of large banks in Manhasset, and then there is Marathon. But, right now, Marathon is the only bank, as our chairman says, with Greek DNA.
What makes Marathon different?
You could say Marathon is more a business bank. The service is a little more private. We handle all sorts of financing and we are a little more creative about it. That’s our strength: that we can do transactions that other banks can’t and we’ve always been partners with the food and construction industries. We do construction loans, we do real estate loans for multi-families. We cut through the red tape and we have an excellent loan department.
What are the benefits of this location?
We’re in the center of a community that, obviously, is very affluent. If you look at the demographics, Manhasset is a community with an average median income that is very high. And the other banks I don’t think can have any sizeable growth here. I think we can. Others who had accounts in other banks like the atmosphere here and the fact that they can come in and discuss any matter with us and get a quick reply. They don’t have to wait in line to get served. In fact, we chose this location so we can service the business community better. This is a very busy commercial area. We get a lot of people coming in every day and asking about us, and many of those are not Greek Americans. We are very satisfied with this location.
What is a large part of your business?
There is always a need for real estate loans. Properties are always changing hands. That’s the nature of the business—it’s a business constantly in movement, especially in mixed-use properties, with the ground level commercial and top floors residential. These structures both increase in value and change hands constantly. And the loan activity is also busy for multi-family homes used for rentals, as well. Condominiums and co-ops. And, right now, construction might slow down a little, but the rates are dropping and we expect greater movement in this sector.
What is the wave of the future in banking?
I believe that electronic transactions are going to sweep the market. Everything is going to be done electronically, eventually. With a few of my colleagues here we have implemented these types of programs and now I can say we can offer this service at this bank and it’s going to benefit a lot of our clients and new clients.
How does it apply to everyday banking?
For example, we have remote deposit right now. You don’t have to be in the neighborhood to visit with us. I could be on the other end of Long Island and still bank here. You process your deposit from your office. But I still believe you’d need a branch, to provide a personal touch and to act as a business center, where professionals can discuss loan services that you can’t access through the Internet. So the branch will become a business center. But I don’t think branches are going to de-emphasize in the immediate future. They will become business centers and you’re going to have specialists on staff from all departments of the bank.
How did you get into banking?
I come from a military family, but I chose to come and study here and one job led to another. I almost worked on Wall Street, but it was Black Monday and that deterred me from working on Wall Street.
And what does a branch manager do?
(At that moment one of the bank employees walks in and tells him he has to activate the alarm in the basement and he fishes for his keys.) What does a branch manager do? (He laughs.) A branch manager does a lot of things.
