Pros
Competitive benefits and a strong brand in the market. Talented employees who care about clients.
Cons
I spent almost 10 years at Live Oak Bank and watched the culture go from innovative to toxic. Nepotism and the “good ole boy” mentality run deep—if you’re not in the club, your voice doesn’t matter. Promotions are based on who you golf or hunt with or who your family is, not performance. Any senior leader that they hire from out of town moves into the same neighborhood as the founders and are immediately members at their country club just like the movie "The Firm." Leadership says they want feedback and encourage debate, but that’s lip service. If you challenge the status quo, you’re sidelined or fired. Pay is another major issue. Internal employees who have been loyal for years and produce two to three times more than others are paid significantly below market. Meanwhile, outsiders hired recently come in at inflated salaries regardless of performance. There is no true pay-for-performance culture here—just favoritism and inequity. Decision-making is a mess. The company can’t stick to a software strategy, constantly changing tools and priorities, creating chaos and wasted resources. The tone from the top is appalling—I’ve personally witnessed the CEO and chairman berate employees in front of entire rooms, leaving people humiliated and even in tears. This behavior trickles down, empowering others to do the same. Ethical issues have been rampant: managers having inappropriate relationships with subordinates, racial slurs, and cursing at colleagues. Recently, they quietly pushed out long-tenured, high-performing employees who helped build the bank. The return-to-office policy is enforced like a surveillance program, with leadership literally walking floors to spy on who’s at their desk. I’m relieved to be out of this toxic environment. What goes around comes around, and the bad actors will eventually get theirs.
