PORT TOWNSEND — Once Bank of America leaves the Olympic Peninsula, its replacement will provide a level of customer service not available from a large national bank, according to the 1st Security Bank CEO.
“We are the benefactor of Bank of America’s decision to get out of the marketplace, which is shocking to me,” Joe Adams told about 60 people at a meeting of the Port Townsend Kiwanis Club on Wednesday.
“We are really excited to be out here and to be part of these communities.”
At noon Jan. 22, Bank of America locations in Port Townsend, Port Hadlock, Sequim and Port Angeles will close. They will reopen as branches of 1st Security at 9 a.m. Jan. 25. The bank has no plans to close branches.
The impending sale of four North Olympic Peninsula branch locations to 1st Security Bank, based in Mountlake Terrace, was announced in September. No purchase price has been reported.
The four branches join the seven the bank has in Seattle, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Redmond, Poulsbo and Puyallup.
The four Peninsula branches began life as Seafirst Bank and were purchased by Bank of America in 1983.
The transfer to 1st Security signals a return to local service, Adams said.
He compared the newly configured bank to locally-owned Kitsap Bank and First Federal.
There is enough room for all these community banks, he said, and enough big bank business that community banks can acquire.
All 29 Bank of America employees on the Peninsula have opted to work for 1st Security, which Adams said will help the bank interact with the public.
“These were people that we really wanted on our team,” he said.
“We hope they will enjoy the new culture because it will be a lot more flexible.
“If we didn’t get a commitment from BofA that we wouldn’t get to keep the team, we wouldn’t have done the deal because opening a new branch with all new people would be a real long road.”
Online transactions and ATMs have changed banking, so walk-in customers have different needs, Adams said.
“When someone comes into the bank, they are not looking for a simple transaction; they are looking for a conversational relationship,” said loan officer Terence Fletcher, a six-year Bank of America employee now with 1st Security.
“Having a conversation with a smart person who knows you is more important than day-to-day transactions.”
“We are all people and want to have significant face-to-face conversations about our finances,” Adams added.
“We are a little old-school,” he said.
“It is our pledge to have a physical location in all of these communities because that’s the only way you can be a part of a community.”
The bank is acquiring not only all four Bank of America retail locations but also the ATMs.
Two branches are owned and two are leased, with 1st Security Bank assuming the leases.
Officials with 1st Security Bank said the four Peninsula branches have about $268 million in deposits and less than $1 million in loans.
Adams said the transactions will add $200 million to 1st Security’s assets, “putting us in the $800 million range.”
Under the terms of the agreement, 1st Security Bank will assume certain liabilities, including checking, savings, IRAs and CDs belonging to households and small-business customers on the Peninsula, officials said.
Bank of America customers whose accounts are transferring to 1st Security already have received new debit cards, checks and account numbers.
The accounts originating in the four branches are automatically converted unless the customer requests otherwise.
Adams said about 20 percent of customers have opted out of the transfer.
He said current Bank of America customers are snowbirds who will want to stay with a national bank because they are going to be in Phoenix or Palm Springs, Fla.
They don’t need to use a large bank, he said. Although 1st Security branches are all in Washington state, it is involved in a 24,000-ATM network throughout the nation where customers will not be assessed a service charge.
Credit card accounts will remain at Bank of America.
Bank of America closed its Forks branch in 2012.
In September, Britney Sheehan, regional media relations manager for Bank of America, would not disclose the number of customers at the Peninsula’s remaining branches.
She said bank officials felt that selling the branches “was the best decision all around” and declined further comment on the reasons for Bank of America leaving the Peninsula.
Adams said the bank seeks certain characteristics in its employees: They should be smart, driven and nice.
“You have to be nice because there are a lot of smart, driven people who are jerks,” he said.
“It’s a lot more fun to work with nice people than jerks.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
