Exchange Bank takes home the NorthBay biz Readers Poll award for Best Consumer Bank for the second year in a row. “We’re very pleased and honored to be voted best of the banks,” says President/CEO Bill Schrader.
Exchange Bank is the quintessential definition of a community bank, conducting an overwhelming majority of its business in Sonoma County since its founding in 1890.
“Consumers appreciate the fact that our lenders don’t just lend in the communities of Sonoma County, we actually live in those communities,” says Schrader. “As far as our customers are concerned, they’re not just our customers; more often than not, they’re our neighbors, too. It’s that personal type of business and ability to find customized solutions that I think makes us effective.”
Services offered include a selection of personal and business checking and savings options, online bill payment services, electronic statements, credit and debit cards, loans, credit lines and an ATM network throughout Sonoma County. The bank is currently preparing for tomorrow by investing in technology that will let it support the delivery of more electronic products on platforms like Androids, BlackBerrys and iPhones.
Schrader sees light on the horizon in the form of an improving economy, and customers indicate improvements in the job market, which will bring an increase in loan demand. “I think we’re seeing some green shoots of spring, as far as the economy showing some signs of recovery. It may not be all that we want, but we’re appreciative of those encouraging signs,” he says.
Local students await that recovery as well. The bank’s largest shareholder—the Frank P. Doyle and Polly O’Meara Doyle Trust—has funded more than $80 million to the Doyle Scholarship program at Santa Rosa Junior College since 1948. The economic downturn caused a temporary suspension of the scholarships in 2009, but there’s hope the funds, which have helped more than 117,000 students, will soon return.
“We’ve achieved significant progress toward restoring the dividend in the bank,” says Schrader. “We’ve seen the bank’s asset quality improve and achieved a consistent pattern of profitability. The outlook that we have for the economy is still cautious, but it’s also improved. We have management and the board all in agreement that we’ve reached a point where our progress would support the restoration of the dividend.”
The scholarship program is only one aspect of Exchange Bank that makes it stand out with Sonoma County residents.
