MARIA BREEN

The Bank of San Antonio Private Banking Manager

By Carole Miller

Photography by David Teran

Like Willy Wonka touring his Chocolate Factory, Maria Breen can make the sun shine just by taking your phone call. In other words, her personal magnetism is unequaled. 

“I can’t imagine having a job waiting for 5 o’clock or doing the same thing every day.”

Her innate desire to help her fellow San Antonians makes her the perfect private banking manager for The Bank of San Antonio. Add in a psychology degree from the University of Houston and a pinch of curiosity, and the result is someone who forms relationships in order to advise and guide generations of individuals and families because, well, she knows how to go about things better than almost anyone else.

“My world is to educate and formulate priorities to craft a financial journey,” she explains. “It takes lots of discussions, and you have to learn to ask the right questions.”

Getting to know clients and hearing their histories, successes, and failures is her favorite part of banking. Along with The Bank of San Antonio’s mission, “To Grow—Through Grit and Curiosity,” Breen genuinely cares about her clients. “They are not just numbers. They mean something to me, and I treat them how I’d like my family treated. Plus, their stories are so interesting.”

Her main talent is big ideas. And big ideas start from small beginnings. The key to her success is to ask questions, start conversations, stay inquisitive and approach each opportunity head-on.