Bank of the West 2009 Annual Report Download - page 6

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PERSONAL BANKING
Dedication to outstanding customer service does not
ebb and flow with economic cycles. We’ve been
devoted to customer service for more than 135 years.
We’re proud that in 2009, for the second consecutive
year, Bank of the West was ranked
“Highest in Customer Satisfaction
with Retail Banking in the West”
by J.D. Power and Associates – the
California, Oregon and Washington
region that includes more than half
of our personal banking customers.
Retired Albuquerque police captain
and businessman Sonny Leeper and
his wife Ella, president of an envelope
and paper company there, have
become true advocates of our bank’s Jefferson Branch.
Not only do they have their personal mortgage,
checking, credit card and investment accounts with us,
but they also refer their friends and family. Their adult
children have accounts with us, and recently Ella
brought her parents in to set up checking accounts.
The Leepers are not alone in their appreciation for our
kind of service. More than 90 percent of our customers
are satisfied with our service, according to independent
surveys. And that’s a key way we measure our success.
Maybe that’s why we added more than 50,000 core
deposit accounts and more than $3.4 billion in core
deposits in 2009.
When Nikki Davis and her husband Jeff needed a loan
to buy a truck, she turned to us because her employer
in Woodbine, Iowa, banked with us. She’s glad she did.
Branch staff explored several different types of loans
to meet the Davis’ financial
needs. She was so pleased with
our service that she and her
husband moved all their
accounts to Bank of the West.
In 2009, we continued to
invest in our people and in our
technology to make our service
even better in the future.
We have been investing
heavily in our online channel.
We upgraded our online bill payment service and
launched an enhanced bankofthewest.com to make it
easier to open accounts online.
Our online account openings jumped more than 300%
in 2009 over 2008. Due to this enthusiastic response
by new customers, we expect online account openings
to increase significantly again in 2010.
To reinforce great customer service, we focused on
expanding and improving the channels through which
our customers bank with us. Our customers can choose
how they want to interact with us, how they receive
account information and how they manage their
We are a recognized
and trusted financial
partner of choice to
individuals, companies,
and communities.
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The kind of bank that values our