“A big differentiator of doing business with Summit State Bank is that we get to know our customers and develop personal relationships.” — Roni Brown
“Always Expect Excellence in Yourself,” is the last tenet of Summit State Bank’s 10 service standards. It is that standard—expected of employees—that helped the Sonoma County-based community bank earn their first vote as the Best Business Bank by North Bay biz readers.
Founded in Santa Rosa in 1984, Summit State Bank is the only bank that operates solely in Sonoma County, with locations in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. Since its founding, Summit State was focused on savings and loans. They shifted their focus to state-chartered commercial business in 2000. The bank offers a wide variety of business-focused services, including cash management, eBanking services, loans, merchant services and more. Clients include notable Sonoma County businesses and nonprofits, including Oliver’s Markets, Community Child Care Council (4Cs) of Sonoma County and Costeaux Bakery.
According to Roni Brown, vice president and marketing director at Summit State Bank, it isn’t necessarily the direct services the bank provides that makes it stand out from the busy Sonoma County banking market, but how those services are provided. “A big differentiator of doing business with Summit State Bank is that we get to know our customers and develop personal relationships,” says Brown. “We call them by name and get to know their business, employees and families.”
The bank’s success is attributed to the service provided by their 75 employees, many of whom are born and raised in the communities they serve. “We are fortunate to have local employees, who have lived in our community for a number of years and are familiar with the community—local businesses—and are personally invested because they live and raise their families here,” says Brown.
Summit State Bank invests in their employees by providing competitive salaries, ongoing continuing education opportunities, and extensive employee benefits, including health and wellness benefits. The bank also actively recruits a workforce representative of the communities it serves. As of 2016, 80 percent of its management are women and minorities, and the team has expanded by hiring new credit, underwriting and loan processing staff. That investment, in both customers and employees, has helped Summit State Bank earn a net income of $4,967,000 and total assets of $514 million in December 2016.
For the investments made in Summit State Bank, the bank gives back to the community. Employees participate in a Summit Day of Service, which provides employees one paid work day a year to volunteer on behalf of the Bank in the community. More than 41 percent of Summit State employees serve on nonprofit boards. The bank also gives back fiscally to nonprofits that bank with them. In 2016, the Bank donated $289,500 to 165 nonprofit partners, representing 5.7 percent of the bank’s profits after taxes.
According to Brown, this accolade only fuels the Bank’s goals of helping their customers and community thrive. “All of our employees take pride in being recognized as the Best Business Bank,” she said. “We are honored to be associated with the other esteemed companies recognized by the readers and thank our customers, community and employees for this acknowledgement.”
