Wayne Griest is a seasoned commercial banker and commercial real estate lender with more than 35 years of leadership experience across banking and business development. Mr. Griest leads Meridian Bank’s Florida expansion, leveraging deep industry experience and strong local and regional relationships developed since permanently relocating to Southwest Florida following the 2014 sale of Continental Bank in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, where he served as CEO, to Bryn Mawr Trust Company.
Wayne oversees all aspects of Meridian Bank’s operations in Florida with a primary focus on generating revenue from the Bank’s commercial real estate and business lending activities and relationships in the Florida market. His background includes many roles within commercial banking, including senior CRE lender, community bank CEO as well as non-bank roles as CFO of a regional home building & real estate development company and founding principal of a commercial real estate mortgage banking firm representing a major institutional CRE lender.
Known for his strategic approach & execution, Wayne works closely with banking clients and prospects to find appropriate solutions to their financing and general business needs. His experience and market knowledge make him a trusted banker and advisor in the business community.
