Bank of the West 2007 Annual Report Download - page 13

BW Insurance Agency, Inc. (BWIA)grew in 2007 to
become the 25th largest bank-owned insurance agency
in the United States. Through dedicated BWIA offices
and at select Bank of the West branches, BWIA provides
businesses with insurance products, including group
health, commercial property, commercial general and
excess liability, bonding, business automobile and
worker’s compensation insurance.
Attracted to Bank of the West by our personal service
approach, the management team at employee-owned
Cemen Tech, in Indianola, Iowa, became a borrower,
then added corporate credit cards and cash manage-
ment, including the Bank’s WebDirect online service.
Pleased with its banking relationship, the company
referred Bank of the West to employees and many of
them are now individual bank customers.
Relationship banking involves analyzing a customer’s
unique circumstances and offering financial solutions
that are sized to fit their needs. Long-time banking
customer Dennis Fong sought to refinance a retail center
in San Jose, California. The bank provided customized
financing for Tropicana Shopping Center, which
leases space to dozens of small vendors who serve the
Latino community.
Many customers who have enjoyed the benefits of a
business banking relationship with Bank of the West are
now enjoying that same personal financial attention as
Private Banking clients. “I’ve done business with Bank
of the West for more than a decade, so it was a natural
extension of that great relationship for me to take
advantage of the Bank’s Private Banking services,” said
Dennis Gilardi, founder of a legal services company,
Gilardi & Co. LLC in San Rafael, California.
A certified Preferred Small Business Administration (SBA)
Lender, Bank of the West has SBA experts ready to help
business partners and their clients choose from a variety
of financing solutions with government-guaranteed
loans that range from $25,000 to $5,000,000.
Working together,a branch manager teamed up with
colleagues in commercial banking and SBA lending to
secure an SBA real estate loan for Dave and Kathy
Knudsen to purchase and remodel the building that
housed their family business, Knudsen’s Ice Creamery &
Chocolates, in Castro Valley, California. An SBA loan
helped Adam Larson to expand his relationship with the
Bank to buy his grandfather's South Dakota company,
The Lumberyard.
Small business banking relationships are also quite
evident in 19 Bank of the West branches that are staffed
with multilingual bankers who serve thousands of Asian
businesses located predominantly in Southern California.
“We found being able to borrow money at the right time to
take advantage of opportunities was the key to our success.”
Stan Turel, Co-Founder, Willamette Vineyards
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