Chris Nichols

Chris Nichols is a finance leader with 30+ years of banking experience specializing in predictive analytics, marketing, pricing, technology and innovation, risk management and creating superior bank performance. 

Chris is President of Institutional Banking for SouthState Bank, a $67 billion, publicly traded regional bank based in Florida. In addition to capital market activities, Chris supports artificial intelligence, digital assets, loan pricing, asset-liability management, payments, open banking, innovation and fintech investing for the Bank. Prior to his role at SouthState, Chris was Chief Strategy Officer and supported digital banking and channel transformation for CenterState, a $15B publicly traded bank.  

He is an active bank investor, small business owner, frequent speaker, and author on a multitude of banking topics including his book, “The Successful Lender’s Field Guide.” Chris writes and produces the Banker-to-Banker blog and a frequent host of The Community Bank Podcast. 

Mr. Nichols has held executive and operating positions at several banks, including Bank of America and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. Chris was a co-founder of FinancialOxygen, a banking technology company; and was a forensic accountant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He holds a degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Chris is an active participant in the community as a sworn law enforcement officer, emergency medical technician, flight rescue officer and is certified in both search and disaster incident management.