Banner Bank, a Walla Walla-based financial institution with a branch in East Vancouver, is planning to open a new location in Salmon Creek.
Though a groundbreaking date has not been set, the new branch will be located at 500 NE 139th Street. It will be designed by Portland-based Myhre Group Architects.
Dianne Larsen, director of marketing and senior vice president for Banner Bank, said the decision to open a second branch in Southwest Washington was a strategic one.
“We are looking at opportunities pretty assertively to either build new branches or look at organizations that make sense for us [to acquire] in the Portland-Southwest Washington area because it is a high-growth market for us,” she said. “This is definitely a strategic move for us.”
Larsen said the Salmon Creek area is attractive for a variety of reasons: there’s an influx of population growth; businesses are driving people to the area; and “segments of the local community are underserved from a bank branch presence perspective.”
The new location will be managed by Jennifer Weber, who brings more than 20 years of banking experience to the branch. Active in the community, Weber serves as president for the Evergreen School District Foundation and for the Junior Achievement Vancouver Advisory Board. She is a graduate of Leadership Clark County and is a recipient of the VBJ’s Accomplished and Under 40 (2010).
Larsen said Weber and her team in Salmon Creek will work to enhance Banner’s relationship with the local business community.
“[Business banking] is actually one of our core competencies,” she said. “A lot of people might not think that banner bank has the products and services of a large national bank, but in most cases you would be quite surprised. We can serve most business needs – everything from a simple operating line of credit to small business loans. We’re a top SBA loan provider in the Puget Sound market and are pushing that down here. From simple to complicated, we can do it.”
Company-wide, Banner Bank operates more than 90 branches and 10 loan offices in 31 counties throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
