Oct. 21--The last couple of years have been lean times in the banking industry, but a couple of lenders have been making inroads among local depositors.

Last week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released its latest deposit rankings, and in Knox County the list was dominated by four banks. As of June 30, First Tennessee, SunTrust, Regions and Home Federal together accounted for just over 75 percent of all deposits, but each saw its market share decline compared with the year before.

Meanwhile, two of their much smaller competitors carved out a bigger slice of the market. Pinnacle National Bank, part of Nashville-based Pinnacle Financial Partners, saw its market share jump from 1.56 percent in 2008 to 2.8 percent in 2009, good for the sixth spot on the local list.

At the same time, Knoxville-based Clayton Bank & Trust's share jumped from 1.45 percent to 2.78 percent, good for seventh on the list.

So what allowed David to prosper at the expense of Goliath? Nathan Hunter, Pinnacle's Knoxville president, cited his company's strategy of hiring experienced bankers who bring clients with them from other institutions.

Pinnacle didn't enter the Knox County market until 2007, and it opened its second full-service local office -- on Broadway in Fountain City -- on Monday. And while the bank takes all comers when it comes to deposits, it has focused its attention largely on a specific segment of the market -- owner-managed businesses and wealthy individuals.

Hunter said Pinnacle eventually would like to rank among the top five lenders in Knox County, although it still has a way to go before it will catch BB&T, which boasted a 6.6 percent share.

"We really want to have one of Knoxville's premier banks, and to do that you probably need to be in the top five," Hunter said.

Also upwardly mobile was Clayton Bank & Trust, and President and CEO Jim Clayton cited pricing as a factor. Clayton said his bank normally is among the top three local lenders on any deposit product and said they also get a lot of deposits from local charities.

"We have a full-time person that provides banking services to the nonprofits," Clayton said. "And then our foundation is very active in the community, and from the engagement we have with philanthropic organizations, we get a lot of deposits from them."

Clayton is the founder of manufactured-housing company Clayton Homes -- which was purchased by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in 2003 -- and his personal fortune also has lured some depositors.