Ralph Bumbaca has spent a lifetime in New York, yet he still enjoys being a tourist and values all that the city has to offer.
"For as long as I can remember, I've benefited from the energy and opportunity that our city has to offer, and even more important, there is always something new to experience and learn," said Ralph, who was recently named Regional President of Metro New York, TD Bank.
It's this love of learning that will be an important key to success in his new role, the next step in an esteemed career spanning more than 35 years in banking. Ralph has been at TD for 15 years, most recently as Commercial Market President of New York City.
As Regional President, Ralph will lead Metro NY's Commercial and Consumer Banking teams throughout approximately 310 stores and multiple lending offices in New York City, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Upstate New York, Northern New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Ralph says he'll remain curious and focus on listening when engaging the Metro teams to understand their specific needs more fully and how they can all work together to improve the customer experience.
“Our first mission is to ensure that the customer experience is always consistent — and legendary — at TD Bank," Ralph said. "That starts with colleague engagement to learn from our frontline colleagues in every region. How we communicate and the quality of our conversations are an important factor in our success."
We recently spoke to Ralph about his vision, his unique career path, and his answer to one of the most important cuisine questions for those living in Metro New York.
What makes TD stand out in one of the most competitive financial markets in the world?
It’s a few things. It’s the meaningful relationships our team members build with our customers and the communities we serve. It’s the engagement between colleagues and their commitment to supporting one another. It’s our bankers’ complete focus on providing the best service and solutions possible by listening first to truly understand our customers' needs and goals.
Living these values every day is our winning formula. It is something we do across our footprint, but in a market like greater New York where there are so many banking choices, it really stands out.
TD Bank’s Metro New York encompasses many communities outside of New York City, with different needs. How does TD serve these different markets?
We have local bankers across all our communities that understand each neighborhood's residents and businesses and their dreams and challenges. As a bank, we need to be engaged in every community we are in to fully understand the different market conditions and the impact that we can make.
As we look ahead, keeping our focus on supporting and delivering for our customers, community members and one another as we have always done across Metro New York will be key to continued success.
Throughout your career, you've made it a point to give back to your community. You are known for your passion in supporting small businesses and finding solutions to the affordable housing crisis, for example. Could you tell us why it's been such a priority, and how you see TD Bank's role in giving back?
My parents were very active with issues that affected our city, so I was raised to give back to the community. I am fortunate to be a part of an extraordinary team that shares my passion, which is also a core value of TD Bank.
Over the years I have served on several boards of directors, volunteered with many organizations, and raised awareness of many nonprofits that are vital providers of needed services in our communities. It's this body of work that I hope inspires the next generation of bankers to appreciate the impact we can make in the lives of our neighbors, because it goes far beyond basic interactions or transactions.
As a bank, it's good for our community and our business success to stay engaged by providing both social and economic support. We really stand behind and invest in our communities with initiatives like the TD Bank Community Impact Plan, which will benefit diverse and underserved communities in our footprint with small business and home lending, banking access, community development lending and investments, financial education and more.
TD can bring thought leaders to the table to work through solutions. For instance, last year, several TD leaders began discussing how we could create a time and space for meaningful conversation about the affordable housing crisis, which is a reality we see every day.
The result was the creation of the TD Housing Summit in Washington, D.C., with housing organizations, TD Bank leaders, Howard University faculty and students, and subject matter experts to discuss today's affordable housing crisis and common needs, challenges, and viable solutions.
Your career has been focused on commercial banking. How does that impact your perspective leading the consumer business for one of TD Bank's largest markets?
What I think is most important is that we take the same customer-focused approach for both the consumer and commercial businesses — we can't think of them as separate. Our business continues to advance, which is exciting. Innovations in our digital and mobile capabilities and the use of data to transform and focus our guidance and solutions will continue to evolve our physical locations to create an effective environment to conduct quality conversations about financial needs and goals, whether someone is looking to buy a home, open a checking account or start a business. Our stores truly are front and center in representing the TD brand.
What skills have made the most difference in your career?
Throughout my education and career, I honed my ability to understand how people make decisions, how they think. It comes down to taking the time to truly listen and I've leaned on that skill to engage both clients and colleagues in meaningful ways throughout my banking career. Active listening allows you to ask engaging questions that demonstrate your support and compassion for the topic, which is critical in terms of driving productivity and influencing solutions.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
My favorite new activity is hiking with my wife. We recently went on a great day trip in the Hudson Valley, enjoying the beauty fall foliage and getting in much-needed exercise.
I've always been a big sports fan — my favorite teams include the Mets, Giants, Rangers, and Knicks. Sports played a big role in my home, and two of my sons are currently working in sports media.
What accomplishments are you most proud of, personally or professionally?
At this point in my career the best accomplishment is seeing colleagues who I have mentored and supported succeed in their own careers and find a true sense of accomplishment in their career journey.
The metropolitan area is known for its great food. What are your favorite restaurants, and where do you stand on the debate about who has the best pizza?
I enjoy a variety of Asian cuisine, especially Korean BBQ; sitting around the open grill cooking together with friends and family is a fun and active dining experience.
The list is always evolving for pizza: Ray's was the go-to after a late night on the town, L&B Spumoni Gardens and now to Lucali's in Carroll Gardens are two of my favorite spots.