Small-town feel at Bank of Fairfield
Hoping to be the bank where everyone knows your name, the Bank of Fairfield opened a new branch Nov. 14 in Spokane Valley, at 32nd Avenue and state Highway 27, by Albertsons.
Headquartered in the nearby farming town of Fairfield, where it was founded in 1908, the independently owned bank has a philosophy of “down-to-earth banking” that grew from its agricultural ties, said Jay Wernz, bank CEO and chairman of the board.
The bank is capitalizing on those rural roots, aiming to draw customers with a personal approach to service in addition to a full range of personal and business accounts and online banking services.
“This bank goes back to the ways of good old-fashioned banking philosophy,” said Karen Sawyer, bank manager. “We truly view (customers) as individuals and give each customer value, rather than assigning them a number. What we want to build is loyalty and relationship.”
Sawyer, who studied finance and marketing at Gonzaga University and has worked in the banking industry for 22 years, said she moved to Bank of Fairfield because she was attracted to that small-town family feeling so often lacking in large corporate banks.
“I don’t think we don’t have a product that we can’t get into our customers’ hands. It isn’t as rigid or stringent as the banks I’ve worked for in the past,” said Sawyer, citing a custom mortgage they designed with an annual, rather than monthly, payment, upon a customer’s request.
While they’ve kept their service philosophy the same, the numbers have changed in the almost 100 years since Bank of Fairfield opened its first branch. In November 1909, bank assets were $80,000 compared with about $140 million today, Wernz said.
Costs have grown as well. The total investment in the new 3,300-square-foot branch and facilities, designed by Wolfe Architectural Group and contracted by Associated Construction Inc., both of Spokane, was $1 million, said Wernz, compared with $4,900 on the balance sheet for building and equipment for their first branch.
The new branch has already brought in more than 60 new customers from the neighborhood, said Sawyer, adding the convenient location is a big draw, but that they hope to retain customers with their locally-based, personal service.
“We understand what’s important to the Palouse and the Inland Northwest may not be the same as larger metropolitan type areas,” Sawyer said. “Because we are a home-grown bank, we understand, from the owner to the branches, how best to fit what our customers are looking for.”