Exchange Bank
“We take to heart our mission and values.”—Ann Hudson, senior vice president, Exchange Bank
Founded in 1890, Exchange Bank has been consistently recognized throughout the years by NorthBay biz readers as the area’s Best Business Bank. In fact, the bank is a 26-time winner in the annual readers’ poll. This distinction reflects the values and mission established in 1890 by Manville “Matt” Doyle and co-founder Frank P. Doyle, who saw the relationship of the bank to the community as a “mosaic of business, family, community and charitable and civic organizations.” Frank Doyle believed that each of these four elements must be successful if the community as a whole is to succeed, and he built Exchange Bank’s culture on his commitment to that belief.
Ann Hudson, senior vice president of retail banking, who joined the bank in 2014, explains how it works. “We take to heart our mission and values. Our mission is to build a strong future for our community and to have a lasting positive impact in the communities we serve,” she says.by “We do this through leadership, community support, volunteerism, providing financial support and sharing our expertise. This time of year, one of our focuses is supporting the Sonoma County Volunteer Center’s Human Race. Our employees are creative and passionate about fundraising, forming teams and competing with each other to raise awareness and funds to support this event and the worthy causes it funds. Exchange Bank provides employees paid time off to participate in a long list of community and nonprofit events as well as time to serve on boards of local nonprofits and share leadership talents to benefit the community.”
She adds, “With the help of our employees, Exchange Bank is truly succeeding in its vision of making a difference in the communities we serve to create a better future for generations to come. It’s in our DNA.” In 2018, Exchange Bank donated more than $785,000 to local nonprofit, charitable and civic organizations as well as more than $100,000 to support relief after the wildfires.
Hudson reflects that Exchange Bank’s co–founder and second president Frank Doyle wanted the bank to be locally-owned and managed. Rather than giving his stock to his heirs, Doyle’s controlling interest was put into a perpetual trust. The dividends are specified for distribution by the Trustees to the Frank P. Doyle and Polly O’Meara Doyle Scholarship Fund for assistance to “worthy young men and women attending Santa Rosa Junior College.” Since his death in 1948, the Doyle Scholarship Fund has provided $86 million to more than 132,000 students. This is clearly an area of great distinction for the bank.
“We feel honored and extremely proud to serve our business community and help grow our local economy,” says Hudson. “’Go Local’ is not just a saying to us—it is our way of doing business. We are a local business, competing against large corporations just like many of our customers. We appreciate our customers, who by banking with us align their values with us in helping to make a positive difference in our communities.”
As for being voted Best Business Bank, once again, Hudson says, “We are grateful to receive this honor, and we encourage you to come and visit us. And if you’re not a customer, try us out.”
