Frost was one of the few banks that didn’t take emergency government assistance when the stock market crashed in ‘08.

Frost didn’t need government assistance.

Other banks did.

Frost had stayed out of subprime mortgages altogether.

It struck them as wrong on many levels.

When the market hit the skids, trust in all banks took a massive hit.

The solution wasn’t for Frost to point out what other banks had done wrong.

It was to point to what they’d done right, which was stick to their time-honored values.

We created a passbook-like booklet that explained Frost’s core values without asterisks, disclaimers or six-point type.

Simple. Smart. Earnest.

That little book got booger-glued into Forbes and Texas Monthly. Dick Evans, Frost’s CEO carried the booklets in his jacket pocket instead of business cards.

The booklet took on a life of its own, making its way into textbooks, university ethics classes and yes, Sunday schools.

The “We Believe” book is still handed out in all Frost branches.

Ask nicely and they’ll give you one. Even if you’re not a customer.

That’s how they bank.