Published May 2004

Cascade creates banking group
for business women

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

Charlie Chaffin has read the articles and noted the statistics, all of which point to one conclusion: Women business owners are a growing force in the economy. And they comprise a market she wants to cultivate as manager of the new Women’s Financial Group at Cascade Bank, expected to roll out later this month.

“Cascade wants to impact the communities it works in, and the Women’s Financial Group is another way for us to try to add another value to those communities,” said Chaffin, who was approached by Cascade chief executive Carol Nelson in late 2003 to develop the new division.

A vice president and client manager for Bank of America at the time, Chaffin was intrigued by the opportunity — and even more so after she had done some research on the topic.

“I was amazed at the number of articles, studies and statistics” on women business owners, Chaffin said, noting that there are more than 71,000 privately held women-owned businesses in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area, employing nearly 96,000 people and generating more than $12.8 billion in sales.

In January, she joined the Everett-based bank and began developing the division with the goal of creating a delivery system for the bank’s existing products and services tailored to meet the needs of women business owners. While national banks such as Wells Fargo already offered women’s business services, Cascade planned to be the first community bank in Puget Sound to do so, she said.

First, however, Chaffin had to understand the needs of the woman business owner.

According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, women business owners are less hierarchical, more likely to draw on input from others and seek more information when making decisions compared to men. And when it comes to choosing financial advisers, high net-worth women place a higher value on trust and qualifications.

Using informal surveys and input from the newly formed Women’s Financial Group advisory board, a group of 13 women business owners, professionals and community leaders, Chaffin reached the same conclusions.

“Women are long-term oriented. When it comes to making decisions, they are interested in building consensus, doing more research and seeking more input,” she said.

For business banking, that means building a true partnership in which the banker understands — and is proactive about — the client’s needs, Chaffin said. That could mean calling them about a new loan product, e-mailing them with information on a new professional networking group or offering pointers on identity-theft protection.

“It’s about building a relationship — it can’t be just transactional,” she noted.

Along with the banker-to-client relationship, the group offers a list of resources on its Web site, with links to women’s programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration, women’s professional organizations, and news and information on business, personal finance and work/life balance.

“We plan to begin offering services during the latter half of May,” Chaffin said. “At this point, we’re looking to create a customer base, and (the staff) will grow as the division develops. In the interim, we have Cascade’s resources.

“If a branch manager or business banker feels they have a client that would best be situated in the Women’s Financial Group, they would partner with us,” she said, noting that the group would be a good fit for women who are looking to grow their existing business.

The balancing act, once the program is up and running, will be keeping the banker-to-client ratio in line to foster the relationship banking vital to the group’s mission: “connecting them with information and resources and real people,” Chaffin said.

For more information on Cascade Bank’s Women’s Financial Group, call Chaffin at 425-258-0629, send e-mail to cchaffin@cascadebank.com or go online to www.cascadebank.com and click on "Women's Financial Group."

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